Community Corner

Chesco, Montco Open Disaster Recovery Centers

Both counties were declared disaster areas in the storm's wake.

This week, both Chester and Montgomery counties will open up Disaster Recovery Centers for residents affected by Hurricane Irene.

Representatives will be on hand to help those affected register to receive disaster assistance. The center in Chester County opened on Sept. 20, while the one in Montgomery County opens Sept. 21.

At a recent meeting of the Chester County Commissioners, Bobby Kagel, deputy director of emergency services for the county, accepted a proclamation declaring September National Preparedness Month. Kagel said the recent events—Hurricane Irene and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee—were an “eye opener” that disaster preparedness should be ongoing.

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Kagel also gave the commissioners statistics on Hurricane Irene.

  • Emergency medical and fire personnel responded to more than 600 service calls during Irene.
  • Police responded to more than 2,300 service calls throughout the county during the storm.
  • Emergency responders performed approximately 30 swift water rescues as a result of the hurricane.
  • At the height of the storm, 117,000 electric customers in the county were without power.
  • Two county shelters, set up with the help of the Red Cross, housed approximately 180 people, as well as five dogs, four cats and a bird.

The number of calls during the storm was a steep increase over an average day.

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 “That represents three times the normal call volume for those folks,” Kagel said.

He also told the commissioners that federal and state representatives toured areas in the county that were hit hard by Tropical Storm Lee.

“We showed them the hardest impacted areas up in North Coventry and the East Vincent area, and at this point we’re waiting but we’re doing everything that we can to ensure that the residents and the businesses of the county don’t sustain a significant economic impact,” Kagel said at last Thursday’s meeting.

For more information on the Disaster Recovery Center in Montgomery County, visit the county’s website. For more information on the Chester County center, get details here.


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