NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Montgomery and Chester counties have temporarily opened emergency resource centers for people in need after Ida slammed the region last week.
More than 440 homes across Montgomery County were affected by the storm, according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. More than 45 were completely destroyed, and 270 endured major damage.
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Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said pretty much every part of the county was affected, whether by flooded creeks and rivers, tornadoes, or high winds.
“That is why we have an operation like this set up so that people from all over the county can come here and get whatever specific resources they need,” she said. “For some people, it was the flooding, for others, it was the tornado, and so their needs are actually quite different.”
Arkoosh said the Red Cross is helping to house people on a short-term basis, while county agency Your Way Home is working to house people for longer.
The line for the Multi-Agency Resource Center in Norristown stretched around the block more than 30 minutes before doors opened. Troy Williams and Anjela Smalls were in line with their young boys, ages 2 and 3.
“They knocked on our door and told us pretty much we had 15 minutes to evacuate, so weren’t able to save anything,” Williams recalled last week’s deadly storm.
“Their toys are completely done,” said Smalls. “We have to throw everything out. Everything that was on the first floor and in the basement is thrown out.”
“Even if we had the money to move, we lost our front room set, all my sons’ toys, appliances. It’s crazy,” Williams added.
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Their story is just one of dozens from Ida’s wrath.
Kimberly Daniels said she got lucky. Only her basement flooded, but a lot of her neighbors have nowhere to go.
“There’s hardly any rentals within anybody’s price range right now, before this even happened,” she said.
Nearby Bridgeport was flooded by the Schuylkill River. Joan Burke said a neighbor on Second Street woke her up to get her out of her Third Street home.
“I go to the door, I see this big wave, it was coming, like Niagara Falls,” she said. “I live on the ground floor. Everything I own is in that house — everything. I have nothing.”
For affected residents, the Montco resource center is in the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit building, located at 2 West Lafayette St. in Norristown. It is open Wednesday until 7 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Chester County’s center is in the United Sports training center, at 1426 Marshallton Thorndale Road in Downingtown. It is open Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 7 p.m.
