Brandywine region getting help after Hurricane Ida

Recovery efforts following the wreckage of Hurricane Ida continue in the western part of Delaware County as state emergency officials visited this week and the disaster declaration was extended.

Ida, which had downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression by the time it reached Delco, caused historic flooding along the banks of the Brandywine River and devastated many homes in that part of Delaware and Chester counties from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5.

Shortly after, President Joe Biden approved the major disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, allowing funding and services to be made available to impacted residents and communities.

Much damage was in the district of state Rep. Craig Williams, R-160, of Concord, who joined federal, state and local emergency officials in going door-to-door to conduct a loss assessment after the rain had stopped.

In his visit to Chadds Ford, he said, “It is a true disaster zone.”

In testifying before the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee this week, Williams explained how bad it was.

“Some of these folks … have lost everything,” he said, adding that a home in Pocopson had floated 150 yards away from its foundation. “When you look across the river at East Bradford, there’s about four foundations remaining and we still haven’t found the homes, still haven’t found their homes. That means everything in their life is completely gone.

“I’ve been there every day for two weeks and these people are devastated,” the representative said.

Williams spoke of the hard-hit Delco parts.

“Chadds Ford, in particular, the historic section, is considered to have flooded at 9 feet,” he testified. “Very early on in the remnants of Hurricane Ida, it got to 17 and when it crested, it was at 21 feet – the biggest flood in the history of Chadds Ford. Some of those historic businesses, the entire ground floor was filled with water such that the ceiling was destroyed.”

He spoke of how Hanks has been completely gutted.

“One home from 1847 the entire basement and ground floor was under water not flooded, but under water,” he testified. “The water line was up to the second floor of the home that itself is elevated.”

He said that the Brandywine River flooding destroyed the ground floor and outside equipment at the Brandywine River Museum of Art and the Brandywine Conservancy. He added that it only missed entering the main floor of the museum by about a foot.

On Sept. 17, the Disaster Recovery Center was opened at the Chadds Ford Municipal Building with representatives from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration, who offers low-interest federal loans for businesses with physical damage and economic injury and for homeowners and renters.

The representative said the help is available but is crucial that people visit the Disaster Recovery Center.

“Help is here and on the ground but only for 30 days,” he said.

The center is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.

Information needed to file a claim include a Social Security number; the address of the damaged primary residence; insurance coverage information; current telephone number and mailing address; and bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds.

Individuals are asked to file insurance claims first before they apply for FEMA assistance but they can visit the Disaster Recovery Center without registering with FEMA.

FEMA also has a helpline at 1-800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available. Persons who are
deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY may call 1-800-462-7585. The line is open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Information is also available online at diasterassistance.gov or disasterassistance.gov/es for Spanish and on the FEMA mobile app.

For SBA disaster assistance, community members can call 1-800-659-2955, email
disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visit SBA’s website at SBA.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard of hearing
individuals may call 800-877-8339.

On Monday, Pennsylvania Labor & Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced that residents who live or work in one of the flood disaster counties are eligible to apply for temporary Disaster Unemployment Assistance.

“The Wolf administration has worked quickly with the federal Department of Labor to stand up this temporary disaster unemployment program to help Pennsylvanians in the hardest hit counties as they continue recovering from Ida,” she said. “I strongly encourage Pennsylvanians whose employment is impacted as a direct result of Ida in one of the six federally-declared counties, to apply for these benefits.”

The deadline to apply for these benefits is Oct. 20. To do so, please visit www.uc.pa.gov.

On Friday, PEMA Director Randy Padfield and FEMA Region 3 Director Maryann Tierney visited the Disaster Recovery Center in Chadds Ford. On the same day, the governor announced that Bedford and Northampton counties had been added in the declaration.

“This terrible storm had a significant impact on the entire commonwealth,” Wolf said. “Thanks to the thorough work of state, federal and local officials to assess damages, more counties are now eligible for much-needed federal assistance. As Pennsylvanians continue to recover from the storm’s impact, this financial support will undoubtedly help even more individuals and households.”