HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —Residents are finally getting some relief.
Township Manager Bill Walker announced at the recent Horsham Township Council meeting that 74 residential properties have received a total of $220,472 in the first phase of Hurricane Ida relief funding.
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“Residents have done a fantastic job being patient,” Walker said at the May 22 meeting. “We’ve worked many hours. This is extremely time-consuming to get money back into residents’ hands after the tornado in September 2021.”
Residents, businesses, commercial property owners, and tenants of storm-impacted property from the tornado that swept through parts of the township in September 2021 were invited to apply for Hurricane Ida Relief Fund consideration.
Walker said that the average payout to residents is $3,000, but some are getting the maximum amount of $3,500.
HIRF was created to ease the financial strain experienced by property owners and residents impacted by the tornado and flooding of Hurricane Ida. The funding helps residents with coverage they did not receive from their insurance companies.
It is financed by a $1.5 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development.
Anyone interested in applying is encouraged to apply for reimbursement of eligible storm-related expenses as soon as possible. HIRF is available to all storm-affected residents as a one-time grant of up to $3,500.
Walker has stated at council meetings that those who apply are more than 90 percent guaranteed to receive some sort of relief.
In September 2021, a tornado caused “extensive damage” in a section of the township as an EF-2 tornado touched down in Montgomery County, traveling from Fort Washington and Upper Dublin Township up to Horsham Township.
The damaged area in Horsham included neighborhoods near Carl Kohler Park and Samuel Carpenter Park, neighborhoods west of Limekin Pike between Norristown Road and Prospectville, and neighborhoods southeast of County Line Road between Keith Valley Road and Park Road.
The application period concludes when funds are fully distributed or on Dec. 31, whichever occurs first.
Walker said township staff is still going through the first round of applications and still have the second and third rounds to go.
For complete program information, eligibility, and application materials, please visit www.horsham.org/hirf.