Business Recovery & Post Storm Support

Unemployment Information 

The State of California Employment Development Department (EDD) provides updates on the Disaster Unemployment Assistance.  Click here for more information: https://edd.ca.gov/en/about_edd/disaster_related_services/

FEMA Inspectors in Santa Cruz County

Information from Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery, & Resilience, as of February 1, 2023: As part of the recovery process following January’s atmospheric river event, housing inspectors contracted by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) will be in the county verifying damages for those with pending FEMA claims.

All inspectors will carry identification and will never ask for money. Here are tips safeguard against fraud:

• Ask to see ID badges. FEMA representatives carry an ID badge with a photograph. FEMA-branded materials such as a shirt or jacket is not proof of identity.
• Keep your FEMA registration number safe. It is your key to your application information. Do not share it with others.
• Safeguard personal information. While personal financial information may be shared after an applicant initiates a disaster assistance application, no State or federal disaster assistance agency will call to ask for your financial account information. Be cautious when sharing social security or bank account numbers to anyone. FEMA inspectors may ask for identification but will already have your registration number.
• Beware of people going door to door. People knocking on doors at damaged homes or phoning homeowners claiming to be building contractors could be con artists, especially if they ask for personal information or solicit money.
• FEMA and U.S. Small Business Administration employees never solicit or accept money.

Those who suspect fraud may call the FEMA Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721. Complaints may also be made to local law enforcement agencies.
 

Small Business Administration - Business Recovery Center

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Business Recovery Center was temporarily located at the City of Capitola Community Room, downstairs at City Hall (420 Capitola Avenue, Capitola. CA). The center closed on Friday, March 17. 

For business owners who are unable to visit the business recovery center, they may apply online using SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/.

Low-Interest Federal Disaster Loans

Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to Santa Cruz County businesses and residents as a result of President Biden’s major disaster declaration. The declaration covers Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties due to the severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that began December 27, 2022.

Read the Fact Sheet at the bottom of this page (under Supporting Documents) for more information. 

Calamity Tax Relief

Property owners with homes or property impacted by the 2022-23 winter storms may be eligible for calamity property tax relief. This relief includes a temporary reduction in assessed values as well as an exclusion from reassessment when the property is repaired or rebuilt. To be eligible, your property must have suffered at least $10,000 in physical damage to taxable property. Damage to personal belongings such as household furnishings, are not eligible as they are not assessed for property tax purposes.

To fill out a calamity application, visit https://www.co.santacruz.ca.us/portals/0/County/asr/Winter Storm Calamity packet.pdf?rev=01262023.

If your calamity application is approved and your taxes are not paid by your mortgage company, you may also be eligible to defer the 2nd installment of your property tax bill, which is due April 10, 2023. For those seeking a deferral, both a calamity application and request for deferral must be filed with the Santa Cruz County Assessor’s Office before April 10.

Thosee seeking only a temporary reduction in assessed values must submit a calamity application to the Assessor’s Office within 12 months of the date of damage. Applications received after that date are not eligible for relief through a temporary reduction in assessed value and/or exclusion from reassessment upon repair/rebuilding

Disaster Recovery Centers

Two FEMA/CalOES Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) are now in operation at the following locations.   

1. Ramsey Park Family Center located at 1301 Main Street in the City of Watsonville

2.  Felton Branch Library at 6121 Gushee Street in Felton.

The DRCs are open every day, including weekends from 9 am to 5 pm through February 10, 2023.  

The Disaster Recovery Centers include staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the California Office of Emergency Service (CalOES), the County of Santa Cruz, the City of Watsonville, and various state, local and community agencies that include disaster recovery as part of their mission. Anyone impacted by the disaster is invited to visit the Disaster Recovery Center to access information and resources needed for recovery, regardless of the type of damage suffered, location of impacted residence or business, insurance status, immigration status, or any other factor.

The deadline to apply for FEMA individual assistance is March 16, 2023. To fill out an online assessment form prior to visiting a Disaster Recovery Center, go to https://tinyurl.com/SCCStormRecovery(link is external).

For more information, read the press release below under Supporting Documents.

Local Resources

The Santa Cruz Volunteer Center is active with clean up for local small businesses. Click here to connect with the organization and sign up to volunteer or sign up for flood clean-up help.

Disaster-related benefits may also be available to you. Visit the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department to explore what aid may be available to you.

For a list of locations in unincorporated areas where residents can pick up sand and/or sandbags, Click Here.

For real-time rain totals and local stream gages, please visit https://santacruz.onerain.com.

The County maintains a local road closure site: https://sccroadclosure.org. This site includes real-time information on roads in the unincorporated areas (San Lorenzo Valley, North Coast, Aptos, Corralitos, La Selva Beach, etc.) It does not include information on state highways such as Highways 9, 1 or 152, nor does it include roads within local cities. Check Cruz511.org for information on local highways.

General Support & Information

The City, County, State, and Federal officials have declared a disaster since the major storms that hit beginning on December 31, 2022. This will hopefully open up additional community recovery resources. Click here for a handbook on recovery resources from CalOES. 

The President signed a Major Disaster Declaration including the County of Santa Cruz which clears the way for Federal Assistance, including Disaster Unemployment Assistance.  The State of California Employment Development Department (EDD) provides updates on the Disaster Unemployment Assistance.  Click here for more information from EDD. 

The California Office of Emergency Services maintains resources for individuals recovering from a disaster, including information about nonprofit support agencies, insurance, employment assistance and more. Click here for more information. 

The Red Cross has many resources that can help during a natural disaster. To learn more about Flood Safety, click here. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration has disaster loan assistance available. To apply for assistance, click here.