The Municipality of Tweed is finally receiving funding for relief from the tornado that hit the area in July 2022.
Ontario has announced it will be providing a total of $1,203,801.74 to Tweed to help assist with cleanup from the tornado.
The funding is part of an overall announcement with a total of $5.5 million going to multiple areas across the province.
Marmora and Madoc will also be receiving funding as part of the tornado cleanup.
The Municipality of Marmora and Lake will be receiving a total of $138,271.41 while the Township of Madoc will be receiving $889,964.62.
Cleanup includes clearing downed trees and other debris as well as helping to protect future weather risks like forest fires through forest regeneration.
On July 24, 2022, an EF2 tornado ripped through Tweed, as well as the Madoc and Marmora areas, causing significant damage.
According to a survey conducted by the Northern Tornadoes Project from Western University, max winds during the tornado reached upwards of 190km/h.
Calls had been growing for more support in cleanup efforts with the Municipality of Tweed holding a special council meeting allowing tornado victims to speak about their experiences in December 2022.
A few weeks after that meeting, Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Ric Bresee told the Lorne Brooker Show on 800 CJBQ that one of the reasons for the delay in support was because a lot of the damaged homes were on private land and there is no program in place to help those homes.
The relief funding is a one-time payment.
In a press release from the province, Tweed Mayor Don DeGenova says he’s thankful for the support from the province.
“Our residents have been living under an umbrella of fear since the July 24 tornado worrying about potential forest fires and flooding,” said DeGenova in a release.
“Tweed Municipal Council and staff worked tirelessly with the province for assistance on behalf of those residents. Today, Minister Smith and our MPP Ric Bresee have answered that call and we are extremely grateful for this support, which will help alleviate some of our concerns.”
Speaking with Quinte News, DeGenova says the municipality initially was asking for $2.7 million from the province.
“(It was to) help homeowners for the things they had already incurred and for future costs and trying to clean up a little more around their property and that basically was what didn’t make it into the cut.”
DeGenova says there will be an Emergency Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday to discuss how to disperse the money so that there can be an immediate effect.
He also says in the event of a forest fire, the municipality has negotiated a deal with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to have water bombers sent to the area immediately whether it be Crown land or private property.
The Ministry would also send fire crews to help battle the fire and create fire breaks between provincial crown lands and residential properties.
