SBA offers low-interest disaster loans to Kauai storm victims, businesses

Kauai owners still dealing with the March storm slowdown now have a federal backstop, but the path is narrower here than on Hawaii, Maui and Oahu. Under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s April 16 disaster notice, Kauai and Kalawao are eligible only for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, a distinction that matters for restaurants, contractors, shops and nonprofits that lost money when roads, schools and water systems were disrupted.

Those EIDL dollars can be used for working capital, fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could not be paid because of the disaster, even if the business or nonprofit did not suffer direct physical damage. The SBA says disaster lending can reach up to $2 million combined, and it also set a June 10, 2026 deadline for physical-damage loan applications in Hawaii, Maui and the City and County of Honolulu. For Kauai borrowers, the key point is simpler: the loan window stays open much longer, but it is for economic injury, not rebuilding property.

The storm left a real financial footprint on island. Kauai County reported seven residential properties and four commercial properties with impacts as of March 27. County, state and FEMA Public Assistance-eligible nonprofit damage and cost totals reached $745,665, including about $680,000 for the Department of Public Works Auto Shop roof. The National Weather Service Honolulu Forecast Office said the rain event ran from March 10 through March 24, with Kauai rainfall totals reaching 25.98 inches at Mount Waialeale and 13.59 inches at Līhue Airport. Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said Kauai stood ready to help other islands, and county personnel were deployed to Maui for damage assessments and recovery operations.

For local business owners, the biggest mistake would be assuming the SBA aid is only for places with visible structural damage. The federal program is designed to keep firms and nonprofits afloat after lost revenue, and the deadline for Kauai EIDL applications is Jan. 7, 2027. That gives island operators time to document storm-related income losses, higher operating costs and unpaid bills, but the sooner they move, the easier it is to match losses to the March 10-24 disaster period that triggered the declaration.