Guadalupe residents displaced by severe flooding from winter storms received some welcome news on Feb. 3, when the U.S. Small Business Administration announced the availability of low-interest disaster relief loans to aid rebuilding efforts.
According to SBA Office of Disaster Assistance spokesman Mark Randle, the loans are intended to repair or replace primary residences and property for homeowners and
renters who incurred flood damage between Dec. 17 and Jan. 4.
“We’re really urging anyone who had damage to their personal property, residence, or vehicle to contact us,” Randle said. “It will help get them back to the way it was before the disaster.”
Though the flooding led to a state of emergency declaration and the release of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster funds for public roads and buildings, the damages didn’t meet the threshold for individual assistance.
The SBA made a disaster declaration separate from FEMA, Randle said, and under the program, homeowners and renters can apply for up to $200,000 to repair damage to homes caused by the floods, and up to $40,000 to replace personal property, such as vehicles or furniture. Business owners can receive up to $2 million to repair or replace real estate, machinery, and equipment, or other working capital needs.
Randle said interest rates for homeowners could be as low as 2.25 percent, 3 percent for private nonprofit organizations, and 4 percent for businesses for a repayment period of up to 30 years. Terms and amounts are determined based on each applicant’s financial condition.
The SBA’s announcement came as a relief to Guadalupe Mayor Lupe Alvarez, who had advocated for federal monies to help residents forced from their damaged homes along Pioneer Street.
“There are still some families that have not been able to move in as of yet,” Alvarez said. “They’re still doing different phases of work, whether removing drywall or electrical work and stucco removal.”
In all, two homes and a triplex of apartments in Guadalupe flooded between 6 to 18 inches deep from the winter storms, according to Guadalupe Fire Chief Jack Owen.
After the rains subsided, Owen said, the city’s building inspector performed evaluations for water damage, marking affected homes with yellow tags, which permitted the families to collect their belongings and clean up, but not to stay.
Some displaced residents moved in with family and friends. Others, 17 people in all, stayed in a Red Cross emergency shelter set up at Guadalupe City Hall for five days, according to Kristiana Kocis, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Chapter of the Red Cross.
Kocis said it was the first time the organization had ever needed to set up a shelter in the city.
“The overall mood in the shelter during the time it was open was really positive,” Kocis said. “People were obviously wondering what the next steps were going to be, but given the situation, they were fairly upbeat.”
The Red Cross was able to obtain rental housing for all of the families by Christmas Eve, so they had somewhere safe to spend the holiday, and also provided financial assistance to help with rent payment and cleanup efforts.
Though none of the displaced families agreed to interviews with the Sun, Kocis described the experience of one family who’d recently moved to Guadalupe from the Los Angeles area.
“The mom was making dinner and [her 15-year-old son] was on the couch playing on
the computer. All of a sudden, this black water started rushing in from under the door,” Kocis said. “Within five minutes, it was up to his calves.”
Because the floodwaters rose so quickly, the Guadalupe Fire Department was forced to evacuate the family out the window. They spent several days in a shelter along with the other residents; the Red Cross and the city provided games, dry clothes, and Christmas presents.
“We’ve got great staff here who cooperated really well with the Red Cross,” Guadalupe City Administrator Regan Candelario said. “They put everything else on hold and made sure those families were going to be as comfortable as possible and had the stuff they needed.”
As of yet, only one home has been re-occupied. Two small apartments remain damaged and empty, while two other homes haven’t been cleared, but are being worked on. One church suffered localized water damage, but was able to continue services.
“They’re basically on their own down there as far as making the repairs and getting things re-habitable,” Owen said. “They can’t move back in until they’ve completed everything and gotten their place signed off by the building department.”
According to Owen, the families will need building permits to replace drywall, insulation, flooring, and any other soaked or damaged construction materials that couldn’t be dried out.
“If you don’t do that, you’re going to end up with mold, which compounds the problem and creates all kinds of unhealthy situations,” he said.
Property owners will also need to have licensed electricians, engineers, and plumbers inspect electrical systems, sewer and water piping, and foundations—issuing a report showing no damages—before being allowed to move back in.
Contact Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 10-17, 2011.
