Officials with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency are still trying to measure the impact of the damage in region, a prerequisite to obtaining federal disaster relief aid.
SPRINGFIELD – Sections of Main Street in the city’s South End reopened Wednesday for the first time since the area was devastated by a tornado that swept through Hampden County.
Main Street from State to Park streets reopened allowing businesses along that stretch to open for the first time in a week.
A portion of Main Street south of Park Street remains closed while cleanup operations continue. The city is temporarily making Park Street a two-way street to allow traffic to flow into and out of the area.
The opening allows businesses to operate, including Red Rose Pizzeria and Appliance Plus. Other local businesses, such as La Fiorentina, Langone Florist, and Fenton’s Sporting Goods, have already reopened. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the reopening of Main Street is part of the city’s immediate object of getting the city’s business community running as quickly as is safely possible.
“I encourage the public to come back and visit our loyal businesses and help support them through this as they are making tremendous steps to recover and rebuild.”
Sarno, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, and Barbara Fields, the regional director of the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development, toured the South End Wednesday despite the sweltering heat to gauge the level of destruction.
“We don’t want to duplicate,” Fields said. “We want to leverage our resources – federal, state and municipal – and we want to make sure we set the stage for private investment.”
Sarno and Neal made a pitch for HUD to make available block grants and government loans to allow businesses and property owners to rebuild.
Madeline Zorzi, a resident and business owner, watched a two-story high pile of ruin that was once her home and her family’s architectural firm get sifted around by demolition experts on Wednesday morning.
“I don’t see anything in this rubble that I even recognize,” she said of 979-985 Main St.
Springfield residents turned out for a prayer and healing service Wednesday night at Christ Church Cathedral sponsored by the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield.
“I know God is here,” Gov. Deval L. Patrick told those in attendance, “not in the devastation of the tornado, but in the countless acts of grace and kindness.”
Patrick said the emergency workers, early responders and neighbors “brought out the best of who we are.”
“We will rebuild and rebound, better than ever if the mayor and I have our way,” Patrick said. He said his prayer is that Massachusetts “remembers the grace of this time.”
Sarno praised the “resiliency of the city of Springfield” and the many good Samaritans he has seen since the tornado.
“We will come back stronger and more united,” Sarno said. “God bless all of you, and God bless our city of Springfield.”
The Most Rev. Timothy P. McDonnell, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, said, “Nothing is so bad that God can’t bring a greater good out of it if we let Him.”
He asked God to “answer our prayers the way You know best.”
More than 150 people gathered at the Milton Bradley Elementary School for an information session on what those affected by the tornado can do to receive assistance.
The two-hour session was divided into two parts, one for residents and homeowners, another for business owners.
Various city and state officials spoke on what people need to do to get city or state assistance from everything from removing trees to finding a new place to live. The state Department of Workforce Development has set up a rapid response center at 95 Liberty St. to aid people who are out of work because of the disaster.
People were also cautioned about hiring contractors without checking to see if the contractor is licensed to work in Massachusetts.
As Building Commissioner Stephen Desilets put it, the city has received several complaints of scam artists preying on tornado victims. “There are snakes coming into the city,” he said.
State Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, D-Springfield, said there are a lot of people with a lot of questions who are having a hard time knowing where to go for answers.
“We’re trying to get the word out,” she said.
People were given pamphlets with information on assistance offered and contact numbers for the Red Cross and Salvation Army. People with questions can also call 3-1-1 for referrals.
Edward Casey, the city forester, said 40 crews are out daily removing downed trees throughout the city. Most streets that were closed have been reopened, except for the stretch of Main Street in the South End that still has some damaged buildings to be removed, he said.
Cleanup operations continued throughout the region from the tornado that left a 39-mile path of destruction from Westfield to Brimfield.
Several dozen residential and commercial buildings were destroyed or sustained heavy damage.
Officials with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency are still trying to measure the impact of the damage in region, said director Kurt Schwartz.
“We do that by looking at the number of people displaced in shelters. We are out counting every home that’s been damaged and labeling it,” he said. “We are counting the businesses that were damaged or destroyed, and we are looking at what the cost is going to be to government to replace public infrastructure, handling the debris,” he said.
The reports of the damage will be presented to Gov. Deval Patrick in the next few days, and he will submit it to the president, Schwartz said.
Schwartz said if the president declares counties to be in a state of emergency, then they become eligible for federal disaster programs and funds.
“Some of those programs will reimburse communities up to 75 percent of the eligible costs of removing debris off public property and other cleanup efforts,” he said. “Individuals who need help getting back into their homes or need to make emergency repairs will also be eligible for federal money. They will register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and they will start getting benefits if they are eligible,” he said.
West Springfield Mayor Edward J. Gibson said his city has condemned 14 buildings damaged by the tornado that hit the Merrick section and is ordering them razed as soon as possible.
The buildings consist of five residential structures and nine commercial ones. Gibson said another 11 residential structures and one commercial property are being looked at more closely to determine if they, too, must be taken down or can be repaired. In addition, there about 100 other buildings that received less severe damage, according to Gibson.
Jared M. Longley Tuesday was busy sweeping away debris from the gutter in front of his family’s business, New England Door Closer Inc. at 694 Union St. in West Springfield. Nearby were the sawed-off remains of large trees along the tree belt in front of his family’s building. Longley raved about the job the city has done clearing fallen trees and branches from streets and sidewalks in the Merrick section, where most of the damage was done.
“I don’t see how they could have done it any more efficiently or quickly. They had the roads cleared real fast, within a day,” Longley said.
“I think everyone has done a fantastic job clearing out the area,” Gibson said of work by the Department of Public Works and private tree companies getting rid of uprooted trees and downed limbs in the Merrick neighborhood.
As of Monday, Gibson said the city had spent $593,000 dealing with the tornado. About half was for tree removal, most of which was contracted out. The rest went to overtime for police, fire, Department of Public Works employees and salaried city employees, as well as to areas like equipment rental.
In Agawam, Mayor Richard A. Cohen said six buildings in his city were damaged by falling trees and tree limbs, but no structures needed to be condemned. There was destruction along 29 streets in Feeding Hills and the northern part of the community, according to him.
As of Wednesday, Cohen said the tornado had cost the city about $36,000 in overtime costs for police, fire and Department of Public Works employees and for equipment rental.
In Springfield, the city’s Housing Division is sending requests to landlords with vacant units to consider making them available for people displaced in the storm, according to House Division lawyer Lisa DeSousa.
The landlords are asked to contact the Office of Housing at (413) 787-6500 or email Lizzie Malave at lmalave@springfieldcityhall.com
Relief efforts are compounded by the extreme temperatures expected for Western Massachusetts.
Temperatures reached 92 degrees in Springfield Wednesday, but the high degree of humidity made it seem like 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures are expected to be the same this morning and afternoon. The National Weather Service has declared a hazardous weather advisory. The heat is expected to give way Thursday afternoon when there is a possibility of severe thunderstorms.
The city on Wednesday opened up cooling shelters at Mason Square Senior Center, 74 Walnut St.; Riverview Senior Center, 120 Clyde St.; Greenleaf Community Center, 1188 ½ Parker St.; Pine Point Senior Center, 335 Berkshire Ave; and Evangelical Covenant Church, 915 Plumtree Road.
The shelters will be open again Thursday from 1 to 8 p.m.
The Springfield Department of Public Works is asking residents with tree debris and small amounts of demolition material to pile them on the tree belt for municipal pickup. There is no set schedule for removal yet.
Residents are asked to used their blue collection bins only for recycling.
Residents can drop off tree branches at the Bondi’s Island Landfill in West Springfield for free. The landfill is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The landfill will take tree debris smaller than 3 inches in diameter free of charge. Anything larger than 3 inches in diameter will cost residents $25 per yard.
Residents who want to dispose of large building materials can bring them or hire an independent contractor to bring the materials to the McNamara transfer station on Rose Street in East Springfield for a fee.
The city will continue to pickup small movable construction debris from the curbside. Residents are encouraged to work with their homeowners’ insurance company regarding reimbursement for expenses incurred and other coverage related matters.
Plywood is being delivered to neighborhoods with damaged structures. The plywood will be available for boarding windows and roof patch jobs. Residents needing plywood delivered can contact the city’s call center at 3-1-1 or (413) 736-3111.
In Wilbraham, town officials said an outside contractor will be working on Main Street on Friday from Tinkham Road south to Rice Drive to remove debris from the tornado from the tree belt. The contractor will wait until school buses go through and will stop at 2 p.m. for afternoon dismissal.
Contractors also are working to clear upper Tinkham Road to make it passable.
Hampden Bank in Springfield has donated $100,000 to two local relief organizations. The local chapter of the American Red Cross will receive $75,000, and the Springfield Citadel Corps of the Salvation Army, $25,000.
West Springfield’s United Bank is also donating $100,000 to tornado relief.
People’s United Community Foundation will donate $30,000 to The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which will distribute the funds to those affected by last week’s tornado.
People’s United Bank also announced that it will collect donations in all of its Massachusetts and Hartford-area branches for the benefit of tornado victims.