The tornado caused an estimated $106 million in damages in Springfield.
At the six-month anniversary of the June 1 tornado, houses along Roosevelt Avenue in the East Forest Park section of Springfield are being repaired. The house at the right was razed and a new one was built in its place.Springfield and Wilbraham will share $5.9 million in federal reimbursement for expenses related to the June 1 tornado, and more money is expected to be coming to Massachusetts communities soon.
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal announced Thursday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded Springfield $3.97 million and $1.94 million to Wilbraham to reimburse the communities for some of the cost of cleanup after the storm.
The announcement came three days after Monson learned it has been awarded $2.9 million in reimbursement for some of the cost of picking up debris left when a cluster of tornadoes tore a 39-mile swath across the region, killing three people, destroying houses, schools and businesses and uprooting trees.
The money is the first be sent to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, which will distribute it to the three communities.
“We expect it in the very near future,” said Thomas T. Walsh, spokesman for Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. He said he does not know exactly when the money will be deposited in Springfield’s general fund.
“I believe the check is in the mail. I hope the check is in the mail,” Monson Selectman Edward A. Maia said, adding he is expecting to use the money to pay part of a $4.3 million bill the town owes a contractor hired to pick up tree debris.
Community officials, who are strapped after dealing with the tornado, the June 26 microburst, the August tropical storm and the most recent Oct. 29 snowstorm, said they are happy to receive the money but said it is a small portion of the federal assistance they hope to receive.
FEMA will reimburse communities 75 percent of costs related to storms in areas declared a federal disaster. Those declarations were made after the tornado, Tropical Storm Irene and the October snowstorm.
Springfield has estimated the cleanup from the tornado alone will cost $106 million, which includes repairing or replacing two elementary schools. Its cost of cleaning up tree debris from the tornado alone was $16.5 million, Walsh said.
The cost of the debris cleanup from the October snowstorm is expected to be three times that amount. After the tornado, the city collected about 160,000 cubic yards of fallen limbs; it collected more than 500,000 cubic yards of tree debris after the October storm, he said.
Communities apply for federal assistance in a number of different categories. The money that has come to Springfield, Wilbraham and Monson this week is for cleanup of tree debris, said William Tranghese, spokesman for Neal.
“It will come in bits and pieces. We do expect continued announcements of more reimbursements,” Tranghese said.
The federal agency is also expected to announce money to be granted in different categories, such as repair to public buildings, in the upcoming weeks, he said.
In early November, Western Massachusetts saw a total of $1 million in reimbursements shared by six communities. The agency approved payments of $481,109 for West Springfield; $300,199 for Monson; $202,185 for Wilbraham; $148,181 for Sturbridge; $18,606 for Holland; and $6,517 for Brimfield.
Some officials said they expect reimbursements for the October storm as well as the tornado to take eight months to a year, but Tranghese said Neal has been working with communities to help them submit the proper documentation and forms so they can receive the money as efficiently as possible.
“The congressman has asked them to expedite the process,” Tranghese said.