The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding Mississippians affected by Winter Storm Fern of a pair of deadlines to apply for low-interest disaster loans available to homeowners, renters, businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and nonprofits.
The SBA is offering two types of disaster recovery loans tied to January’s storm to 36 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians: Physical Damage and Economic Injury.
June 10, 2026, is the deadline to apply for Physical Damage loans, which are available to businesses, nonprofits, homeowners, and renters for storm-related repairs and replacement costs. Businesses and nonprofits can borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged property, equipment, inventory, and other assets. Homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 for repairs to their primary residence, while renters and homeowners can receive up to $100,000 for personal property losses.
“That’s your obvious – you’ve got trees down, pipe damage from the freeze,” SBA public affairs specialist Suzanne Buchanan said. “Any kind of physical damage that you have that you can show proof or is something that can be eligible.”
Buchanan noted homeowners and businesses who already paid out-of-pocket for storm-related repairs may still qualify for reimbursement.
“If you had trees or limbs that fell on your property or on your house or you had pipes that burst, even if you already paid for those repairs, that is something that you can repay yourself for,” she said.
Jan. 11, 2027, is the deadline to apply for Economic Injury loans, which are designed specifically for businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and nonprofits that dealt – or continue to deal with – financial disruptions caused by the storm, even if they did not sustain direct physical damage.
“Economic Injury loans really exist to help with the slowdown that inevitably occurs when the world stands still,” Buchanan said, noting the deadline is later to give businesses and nonprofits a chance to look through their year-end books.
“Maybe it’s toward the end of the year when they’re going through their bookkeeping and getting ready for tax season, they may realize that they’re not making it or that the storm hurt them more than they knew.”
Interest rates for qualifying applicants can be as low as 2.875% for homeowners and renters, 4% for businesses, and 3.625% for nonprofits. Loan terms can extend up to 30 years depending on the applicant’s financial situation, with no interest accrual or payments due during the first year after disbursement.
“We always say, ‘Don’t count yourself out,’” Buchanan said. “Yes, we look at credit, but we’re looking at more than credit. We’re looking at the ability to repay and other factors as well.”
Applicants needing assistance can visit disaster recovery centers operating in coordination with MEMA and FEMA through June 13. Centers are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The following counties still have centers open: Alcorn, Benton, Carroll, Coahoma, Lafayette, Leflore, Marshall, Montgomery, Panola, Pontotoc, Tallahatchie, Tishomingo, and Yazoo.
“The SBA is right there with them,” Buchanan said. “You’ll find SBA customer service representatives who are there and ready to help you with any questions you have and actually help you apply on site.”
Applications are available online at sba.gov/disaster or by calling SBA customer service at 800-659-2955. The disaster number for those impacted by Winter Storm Fern is MS-20018.
“We always say, ‘You don’t have to take the money, but sometimes, it’s great to know what’s there,” Buchanan said. “We really recommend applying.”
The following counties and tribal lands are eligible for Physical Damage and Economic Injury loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration:
- Adams
- Alcorn
- Attala
- Benton
- Bolivar
- Calhoun
- Carroll
- Claiborne
- Coahoma
- DeSoto
- Grenada
- Holmes
- Humphreys
- Issaquena
- Jefferson
- Lafayette
- Lee
- Leflore
- Marshall
- Montgomery
- Panola
- Pontotoc
- Prentiss
- Quitman
- Sharkey
- Sunflower
- Tallahatchie
- Tate
- Tippah
- Tishomingo
- Tunica
- Union
- Warren
- Washington
- Yalobusha
- Yazoo
- Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Winter Storm Fern tore through a large portion of Mississippi on Jan. 23-27, knocking down trees and power lines, leaving roughly 180,000 customers without power at its peak, and killing 29 people. As of late February, more than 12,000 insurance claims had been filed, totaling over $107 million, according to the Mississippi Insurance Department.