WASHINGTON — To ensure strong coordination with federal, state and local agencies, Sandy Baruah, acting administrator of the Small Business Administration, traveled to Florida on Monday to assess damages caused by tropical storm Fay.

The agency said it has deployed staff from its disaster field operations center in Atlanta, and has staff on the ground in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando. An additional 100 staff are on standby.

Low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and non-farm businesses of all sizes are available through SBA. Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged real estate. Individuals may borrow up to $40,000 to cover losses to personal property. Disaster victims may now apply for loans from SBA's Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

For the most part, credit unions in Florida were spared any extensive damage. The storm caused 23 deaths in the Caribbean and two in Florida. According to the National Weather Service, it is the fourth storm in history to strike Florida three separate times.

Meanwhile, Baruah is scheduled to travel to New Orleans today, his first visit since being named SBA acting administrator nearly two weeks ago, where he will assess the agency's progress in helping the Gulf Coast rebuild from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, the agency said.