Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • A5

Gloucester Co. in line to get disaster relief By Alfred Lubrano STAFF WRITER PRESIDENT Joe Biden ap-proved a major disasterdeclaration for Gloucester County and other parts of New Jersey and New York on Monday in the aftermath of the storm gen- erated last week by remnants of Hurricane Ida. In this region, the move will un- lock funds for the hardest hit ar- eas, including Mullica Hill, where homes were flattened and torn in- to piles of debris by a mammoth 150-mph tornado as rare as it was destructive. No fatalities were re- ported in the county. Officials from FEMA, who con- firmed the declaration Monday af- ternoon, gathered behind the Gloucester County Library in Mullica Hill to begin the task of helping those who suffered prop- erty damage find compensation.

here to reach out to the community and help register them for FEMA said crew leader Ron Winward. He said that help could come in the form of grants and loans. He add- ed that FEMA is working with the New Jersey Office of Emer- gency Management. Residents can see FEMA offi- cials in person or register for help online on the website, fe- ma.gov. Other municipalities in the county that were affected include Mantua Township, Harrison Township, Deptford, Wenonah, and Woodbury Heights.

Officials said a second, smaller tornado touched down in Edgewater Park, Burlington County, where it uprooted trees. Five other torna- does spun through Pennsylvania. Marshaling carving winds and destructive downpours, the storm killed at least 50 people in six Eastern states as record rain- fall overwhelmed rivers and sew- er systems, according to the Asso- ciated Press. On Monday, the federal disas- ter declaration was welcome news. a big deal the president saw fit to do said Robert Damminger, director of the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners.

just found out about it. much needed. been amazing damage. so sad to see people lose their Also on Monday, Gloucester County Commissioner Heather Simmons, who oversees econom- ic development, said too soon to estimate how much the dam- age cost. But, she added, federal dec- laration will make resources avail- able in a timely manner to help families pick up their lives and get back some of what they lost.

really In a statement Monday, the of- fice of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker NJ), said that in addition to mobi- lizing emergency responses from various federal agencies, declaration unlocks three main streams of federal funding to af- fected counties via FEMA. These include assistance to indi- viduals and households; assis- tance to state and local govern- ments as well as some nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replace- ment of disaster-damaged facili- ties; and hazard-mitigation assis- tance, given to state and local gov- ernments to prevent or reduce long-term risk from natural haz- ards. office added that in ad- dition to Gloucester County, Bi- declaration covers Bergen, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Passaic, and Somerset Counties.

More counties could be added. Learning of the disaster decla- ration late Monday, Gloucester County residents were glad to hear that help was on the way. But at least one person believed Biden took too long to make his announcement. said Barbara Diaz, a retired woman who declined to give her age. She was rolling a shopping cart of purchased food toward her vehicle in the parking lot of the ShopRite of Mullica Hill.

that announcement should have been a no-brainer from day Diaz said that her Mullica Hill- area home sustained downed trees and fences and that an out- building was destroyed. just grateful no one was Lance Werner, 52, who works in banking and lives in Mickleton, adjacent to Mullica Hill, said he was saddened to about neighbors hit hard. very blessed our own house was un- scathed. really happy to hear the government will be giving these folks some Meanwhile, Hugh McStay, also of Mickleton, a 61-year-old sched- uling manager for a construction company, said it seemed like went in houses around him blown apart by the tornado. elated to hear about the federal declaration.

glad response was he said. not hap- py with the president myself, but happy he came Amid the destruction, Dam- miger took pains to point out that the storm is bringing out the good in people. was heart-warming to see neighbors helping neighbors af- fected by the storm cut trees and limbs and drag things to the he said. went to tell one person I thought was a property owner who suffered damage about the di- saster declaration, but he the resident. He was part of a group of folks helping the resi- dent out.

thought that was pretty "AlfredLubrano NEWS HURRICANE IDA Anthony Dagrosa sweeps up left of his flattened home in Mullica Hill, N.J., on Sunday. TOM GRALISH Staff Photographer Tuesday, September 7, 2021 I A I A A I I I Page 5.