In Monson, 51 homes were total losses; in Brimfield, 39 are officially uninhabitable.
Officials say cleanup efforts are continuing in Monson and Brimfield, with progress being made each day, after devastating tornadoes whipped through the eastern Hampden County towns, destroying and severely damaging homes and businesses in its way.
Monson Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers said there were a total of 51 homes that were "total losses," and another 67 with damage so significant that use is now restricted. A total of 224 homes in the tornado's path were inspected.
The tornado, which struck June 1, ripped the roof off the Town Office Building, rendering it unusable.
Town offices are in the process of moving to the old Hillside School, and Neggers hopes that town government will be ready to operate there on Monday. The Building Department has already relocated to Hillside, which is on Thompson Street. Recovery efforts have been affected because town government itself was a tornado victim, she said.
"This has been very traumatic for the community. We're going to be there for them. We're not going to let them down," Neggers said."We are doing the best we can."
She said that Verizon and Comcast crews have been working on restoring phone and cable service. All roads are open.
Said Highway Surveyor John R. Morrell, "We're getting better every day."
In Brimfield, roughly 10 percent of the homes in town were significantly damaged in the June 1 tornadoes, so the Building Department is waiving the fees for demolition and temporary housing to help residents cope with the crisis.
Building Commissioner Harold P. Leaming, who does the same job for Monson, said it is still important for people who plan to demolish a home or put up temporary housing at their property to seek a permit from his department.
"We will work with people as much as we can,'' Leaming said.
Temporary mobile homes may be hooked up to existing water and sewer service but only after inspections are conducted and permits approved to make sure they are safe.
For those residents who need a new electrical service, the town is working with students and teachers from Tantasqua Regional High School who are building and wiring new services as a community service project.
Brimfield's electrical inspector, Scott Mansfield, will oversee and inspect each residential service. They are being built behind Town Hall not at the residential properties.
Residents interested in obtaining one of these should call Mansfield at (413) 245-4100, extension 108.
Leaming said Tuesday he and his staff have marked 142 homes in Brimfield as needing significant repairs and the numbers could go higher as the inspectors continue to get down roads that were impassable the first few days after the storm.
Of those marked, Leaming said 89 have green tags indicating they are safe to be in, but need some repairs, and 18, which have yellow tags, where the access for now is limited. In some of these a porch or a second floor will be off limits until repairs are made, he said.
There are also 39 homes marked with red tags which are officially uninhabitable.
Some of these homes were blown off the foundations or were structurally damaged to the point where they will have to be demolished, but Leaming said some of the uninhabitable homes can be rebuilt without demolition.
Electrical power was restored to most Brimfield homes by the beginning of this week and crews are working on restoring power to the remaining few.
Leaming said that in addition to having roughly 10 percent of the homes in this small town damaged by the tornadoes, the town roads have been taking a beating because of all the heavy repair trucks working every day.
Because of the potential for insurance reimbursement or state or federal financial aid, Leaming is advising residents to keep all receipts for supplies, fuel, outside meals and temporary housing.
The state Division of Insurance has set up a hotline, (617) 521-7777 to deal with people who have insurance issues related to the storm and has posted related information on its website, www.mass.gov.
Leaming said the Brimfield Building Department, had always functioned as a part-time department but now had additional staff and is operating almost at a full-time basis for this crisis.
Residents with building questions may call his department at (413) 245-4100, extension 5.
Staff writer Lori Stabile contributed to this report.