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Updated: December 3, 2021 @ 5:01 am
A pick-up truck drives through a flooded road in the Singing Forest Mobile Home Park in Floral City Tuesday, Aug. 17. Some residents there are still dealing with flooding.
Amanda Woodward
Reporter
A pick-up truck drives through a flooded road in the Singing Forest Mobile Home Park in Floral City Tuesday, Aug. 17. Some residents there are still dealing with flooding.
Amanda Woodward
Citrus Countians who experienced flooding issues only have until Dec. 9 to apply for a low-interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The SBA on Monday opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center at the Citrus County Canning Center, 3405 W. Southern St. in Lecanto. Numbers are only available for Tuesday, when about 15 applied.
“We’re trying to get the word out about it,” Emergency Management Director Amanda Woodward said. “I don’t think a lot of people know about it.”
Record summer rainfall caused record flooding throughout Citrus County. Some homeowners lost everything.
Woodward said the final assessed property damage value due to flooding was $10.1 million for 157 properties.
“We had people whose homes were basically destroyed,” she said.
One of the worst hit was the Singing Forest Mobile Home Park in Floral City. Heavy rains in August flooded the park area in front of people’s homes and water seeped under the foundation and came up through the floorboards, creating unlivable conditions. Many there are still dealing with water issues, Woodward said.
Most of the flooding across the county has been resolved. But there are still roads underwater in the north Citrus Citrus Avenue area, Woodward said.
Dr. Mark Fulkerson, chief professional engineer with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), said aquifer levels remain high, propping up flooded areas and preventing water from draining into the underlying soils.
“It will likely be a few more months before most of the flooded areas return to normal,” Fulkerson said.
Since Jan. 1, Citrus has received an average 67 inches of rain, nearly 16 inches above average for the year, he said. Some parts of the county have already received 80 inches this year.
The SBA’s Disaster Loan Outreach Center is at the Citrus County Canning Center, 3405 W. Southern St. in Lecanto. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4.
The office closes permanently at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9.
• Businesses can borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.
• Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate.
• Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800-659-2955) or emailing DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.
Contact Chronicle reporter Michael D. Bates at 352-563-3205 or mbates@chronicleonline.com. To see more of his stories, visit  tinyurl.com/y6kb23vv.
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