Federal money is being made available to homeowners, renters and businesses in eight eastern Iowa counties after the tornadoes and severe weather that hit June first.

Bill Koonts, a spokesman for the U.S. Small Business Administration says, "On Friday, the SBA announced that it’s declared a disaster for Louisa and Muscatine counties. This declaration also includes the neighboring counties of Cedar, Des Moines, Henry, Johnson, Scott and Washington counties." He says Iowans who had damage to their homes and businesses will be eligible for low-interest loans.

The SBA is opening disaster loan outreach centers today in Grandview and Fruitland. The Grandview office will be open Mondays and Tuesdays for the next three weeks while the Fruitland office will be open Thursday and Friday this week, and Wednesday through Friday the following two weeks. Koontz says the SBA loans are available for anyone who had damage, not just businesses.

He says: "Even though our name is the Small Business Administration, most of the disaster loans we make are to individuals. A homeowner can get as much as $200,000 to repair their homes, $40,000 for contents. A renter could get $40,000 for the contents of their residence. And businesses of any size with physical damage are eligible for up to one-point-five million in disaster loans."

Koontz says the interest rate for individuals is as low as 2.875 percent for 30 years, while the interest on business loans is as low as four-percent. For more information, visit one of the offices in Fruitland or Grandview, call 800 659-2955 or visit " www.sba.gov ".