Hurricane Helene – Initial Disaster Assistance and Recovery Response

The Office of Inspector General is issuing this inspection report to assess the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) initial response to Hurricane Helene, including staffing, loan application volume, and timeliness of disaster loan approvals.

We found that in SBA’s initial disaster assistance response to Hurricane Helene, the agency promptly established a field presence, adequately staffed recovery centers, responded timely to applicant queries, and processed loans in a timely manner.

We found that SBA processed loan applications in 20 days on average but was unable to disburse many of those loans due to a 68-day funding lapse. As a result, the overall processing time was 69 days on average with the funding lapse and 64 days on average without it. In addition, we identified opportunities for SBA to optimize its outreach efforts so disaster survivors are aware of the assistance available to them.

We recommended SBA review current outreach strategies; immediately conduct outreach efforts in North Carolina and South Carolina and perform a root cause analysis to determine the basis of insufficient outreach efforts in these two states; and implement appropriate changes to ensure maximum awareness of available assistance to disaster survivors that account for rural areas.

Management’s planned actions to review staffing assignments to ensure adequate coverage for future disasters and immediately conduct outreach efforts in North Carolina and South Carolina resolved Recommendations 1 and 2. Management’s response did not resolve Recommendation 3; therefore, we will seek resolution in accordance with our audit follow-up policy.