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NYS SBDC Services & Specialty Programs: Disaster Recovery Expertise

Disaster Recovery for Small Business

Roxanna Astorga, Business Adviser Miriam Colon, Jennifer Price-Moore, and Tony Presti, Business Adviser at the Brooklyn SBDC.
With business affected by 9/11, Priceless Professional recieves financial assistance through the World Trade Center Small Business Recovery Fund.

After experiencing a disaster or other emergency, seven out of ten small businesses never recover. Business disruption can be caused as much by indirect impacts, such as road closures, loss of water and power supply, and the inability of suppliers to deliver goods and services to your business. However, economic recovery for small businesses in a disaster zone is critical to recovery of the disaster stricken community.

SBDC personnel often are more familiar than any other entity with the local small business economy and the various community resources available to assist small businesses. Trained SBDC advisors have the skill sets and the experience to assist small business owners in reconstructing lost or destroyed business financial records, which are necessary in making a successful filing for SBA loans and other financial assistance.

The NYS SBDC has experience with small business disaster response and recovery. The ice storm that crippled Northern New York in 1998, the terrorist attacks that immobilized business in lower Manhattan in 2001, and the floods that paralyzed the Southern Tier in 2006, and the blackout in Queens in the summer of 2006 are just a few recent examples of disasters that have dramatically affected small businesses in New York. In each case, the SBDC has been there to help businesses assess the situation, re-launch, and plan for the future.

Following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in Manhattan on September 11, 2001, the SBDC immediately began delivering disaster recovery assistance to small- and medium-sized businesses physically and economically impacted by the disaster.  Through its 15 downstate centers and additional temporary assistance centers, SBDC Business Advisors worked directly with small business owners, helping them fill out applications for SBA Disaster Assistance Loans and working with them to reconfigure their businesses for the future. Business Advisors from SBDC regional offices across New York State volunteered their help in Metropolitan New York.

The SBDC and the New York State Business Development Corporation partnered to establish and promote the World Trade Center Small Business Recovery Fund (WTCSBRF), a nonprofit corporation established to provide working capital loans to impacted small businesses to facilitate economic recovery. The WTCSBRF targets specifically those small businesses that do not qualify for other forms of emergency funding relief. Founding sponsors of the WTCSBRF include American Express, Deutsche Bank, and Principal Financial Group. The Fund continues to provide loans to help small businesses and the small business community of New York City to grow stronger.

SBDC Services for Small Business Affected by Disaster:

As with all of their consulting services, there is no charge for the confidential assistance provided by the SBDC in the aftermath of a disaster. Highly trained, disaster-experienced SBDC advisors will assist with the following:

  • Completing SBA disaster loan applications
  • Finding information about available financial assistance and claim filing
  • Filling out requests for loans, claims, and assistance forms
  • Helping re-create lost financial records, if necessary, to document losses
  • Locating and setting up short-term and permanent replacement facilities
  • Assessing environmental cleanup options
  • Developing an emergency response plan for the business
  • Strategic planning for rebuilding the business and marketing to new potential customers
  • Identifying and addressing other issues of concern to affected businesses
  • Developing a business continuity plan for response to potential future disasters

Additional Resources:

U.S. Small Business Administration

SBA Field Operations (East) - (800) 359-2227
The speech or hearing impaired may call (TTY) (404) 347-3751

  • Physical Disaster Business Loans - Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster damages to property owned by the business, including real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and supplies. Businesses of any size are eligible. Nonprofit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc. are also eligible.
  • Economic Injury Disaster Business Loans - Loans for working capital to small businesses and small agricultural cooperatives to assist them through the disaster recovery period. EIDL assistance is available only to applicants with no Credit Available Elsewhere - if the business and its owners cannot provide for their own recovery from non-government sources.
  • SBA Disaster Assistance – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Federal Emergency Management Agency - If you suffered any disaster related damage you may be eligible for federal disaster assistance. Individuals that are Homeowners and Renters must register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to obtain a FEMA Registration ID Number by calling 1-800-621-3362. The speech or hearing impaired may call (TTY) 1-800-462-7585.

U.S. Department of Agriculture - Emergency Loan Assistance to help producers recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding, other natural disasters, or quarantine. For information, visit

American Red Cross Guidance for Business and Industry

Selected Commercial Disaster Preparedness Links

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

US Department of Homeland Security
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Corporate Woods Building, 3rd Floor
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In NY State (800) 732-SBDC
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Partnership Program with the SBA, administered by the State University of New York. Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.  All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.