PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It’s been one year since Hurricane Ida ripped through the Delaware Valley with heavy rains, massive flooding and damaging tornadoes.
Many residents and business owners are still picking up the pieces from the historic storm that flooded I-676 and caused extensive damage throughout the region.
In Gloucester County, an EF-3 tornado tore a 12-mile path of destruction which caused dozens of families to lose their homes. But a year later, there’s been great progress.
In Mullica Hill, one of the homes on Marvin Lane that was completely leveled is nearly rebuilt. Neighbors say the year has been difficult for the neighborhood, but it’s brought them all closer together.
“Obviously at first it was scary, but it was pretty great for the community at least,” says resident Morgan Vigliotta. “I think it showed how connected we are as a community, as neighbors.”
At Wellacrest Farm - New Jersey’s largest dairy farm - they lost 45 of their 1,600 cows, but are now back up to 1,600 again after more than 100 births in the past year. Nearly all of their damaged structures have since been rebuilt, including several brand new blue barns, thanks to support from people near and far.
“It’s still a financial burden, but we wouldn’t have been able to do anything if it wasn’t for all of those people,” said Owner Marianne Eachus. “Hand donations, people donating food and it was just totally overwhelming.”
Eachus says the outpouring of support brings her to tears all the time.
“I still get calls. I still get texts from people. We wouldn’t have been able to rebuild without them,” said Eachus. “The Amish played a big part. They came out and volunteered their labor for free. We bought the material and they did all the roofs and things that they could.”
The worst part of all of this, Eachus says, is dealing with insurance companies that haven’t paid them yet. And it appears she’s not alone in this. Anyone looking to file a complaint against their insurance company should contact the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance at 609-292-7272.
In Pennsylvania, over $100 million in damage was caused to the state’s infrastructure. Businesses in Manayunk were some of the most affected by the storm.
Ida caused over 7 feet of water to flood the basement of Greg's Kitchen. The eatery just reopened two months ago. Extensive damage to the electrical system caused them to shut their doors for ten months.
"Originally it was speculated that it would only be 4-6 weeks, but things kept piling on,” said owner Greg Gillin. “You look for one thing to fix and another thing happens, so it was a lot longer than we anticipated."
He says the biggest battle right now is letting people know that they are open again.
"Seeing all of that destroyed was kind of a kick to the gut,” said Gillin. “But, they're just things, and luckily the restaurant was okay."
Manayunk Brewing Company also suffered extensive damage after 9 feet of water in the establishment caused them to close their doors for 6 months.
"It was devastating when we first walked in here,” said Michael Rose, an operating partner for the brewery. “We looked at each other and said, ‘Damn, what a disaster this is.’"
He adds when they first saw the damage they didn't think they would come back from it, but everyone pushed through and made it happen.
"The staff came to our rescue and said, ‘Listen, we can put this back together,’” said Rose. “That's what changed my mind and we went and put it back together."
Rose is used to some flooding in that area, but says the community never experienced anything like Ida.
"I don't want to see another Ida, I really don't want to go through it again,” said Rose. “This took a lot out of me."
Manayunk Brewing Company has not been able to reopen the brewing portion of the company, but Rose aspires to revive the operation someday soon.
Montgomery County also still bears the scars from historic flooding and deadly tornadoes.
“All we have to do is look at places like the Upper Dublin township building, the Temple Ambler campus, or the number of homes that remain covered by tarps to know that the storm's impact is still being felt today,” said State Sen. Maria Collett (D-North Wales).
The county suffered from record flooding along the Perkiomen Creek and Schuylkill River, and a tornado in Upper Dublin.
“I don't think any of us really anticipated what was about to come,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh. “There are so many homes that still have tarps on their roofs or walls that you can see are still being fixed. There's a long way to go for a lot of folks.”
She says national supply chain issues, skyrocketing property values across the county and higher rent with more competition for fewer properties are adding to the challenges.
“All of that has come together to make it really challenging,” said Arkoosh. “Particularly folks with limited or lower incomes to find permanent housing.”
The state is making $1.5 million available to homeowners in Upper Dublin and Horsham, with a max of $2,500 per household.
Arkoosh says she’d like to see changes to federal and state relief efforts. She says they operate under the assumption people can stay in a hotel for a few days, but Ida showed that is not the case. Arkoosh says many of the people hit the hardest didn’t have a way to get to a hotel, or couldn’t afford one even if they could have gotten there.
“I'd really like to see that focus at the federal and state level retooled,” said Arkoosh. “So that the people who need the help the most are the number one focus of those emergency operations.”
Montgomery County residents still experiencing unmet needs related to Tropical Storm Ida can contact the Disaster Case Management Program at 1 (833) 461-8432.
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