Home and small business owners who had property damaged in the winter storms are advised by the state’s Emergency Management Division to file a report with their local emergency management office as soon as possible.

In addition to notifying their insurance company, home and business owners should report damages to the emergency management agency in their community. Property owners need to report their name and address, a description of damage, a personal estimate of losses that will be uninsured and an estimate of the fair market value of the damaged home or business.

Families are also advised to keep records of all clean-up and repair costs and, if possible, document them with photographs.

Business owners who have seen a negative effect on their revenues and ability to pay expenses should consider completing an Economic Injury Disaster Loan worksheet to document the losses. Completed worksheets are submitted to the county emergency management agency.

Completing the worksheet does not obligate a business owner to apply for an SBA loan. It merely quantifies the economic impact and allows the state to request an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program for those businesses that need and want it.

The state must certify that at least five small businesses in a disaster area have suffered substantial economic injury and need financial assistance not otherwise available on reasonable terms. County emergency managers must submit an assessment of damages in their jurisdiction to the state by Feb. 13.

The one-page EIDL worksheet is located at emd.wa.gov/disaster/documents/EconomicInjuryWorksheetnew9-2007.pdf.