SBA Loan Assistance Offered For Oklahoma, Kansas Tornado-Damaged Businesses

The Small Business Administration is offering loan assistance to companies in southeast Kansas, northeast Oklahoma and southwest Missouri damaged by a tornado and violent weather on April 27, 2014.

The Kansas Division of Emergency Management says it was notified Wednesday that the state was granted an SBA disaster declaration for Cherokee County and adjacent counties in Oklahoma and Missouri.

SBA news release

Dozens of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in the Cherokee County town of Baxter Springs by an EF2 tornado that also hit Quapaw, Oklahoma.

Officials say the declaration also covers Crawford and Labette counties in Kansas, Jasper and Newton counties in Missouri, and Craig and Ottawa counties in Oklahoma.

A Disaster Loan Outreach Center is now open at the Robert Whitebird Cultural Center at 905 Whitebird Street in Quapaw, a news release says.

SBA officials will be at the center to assist in completing applications, explaining the process and answering question. The release says the center will be open Mondays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Applicants can apply online or by calling (800)-659-2955.

5/4/2014 Related Story: Baxter Springs Residents, Volunteers Sift Through Tornado's Damage

The Associated Press contributed to this report.