The city of Tempe now estimates that more than 1,000 homes and 83 businesses were damaged by the Oct. 13 microburst.
But officials still don’t know how many people were displaced by the storm two weeks ago.
Some people could be out of their homes for the long term, especially those who lived in apartment units that have been damaged.
The city has cleared over 600-tons of plant material that had been knocked over from the storm. A Tempe spokesperson says the public works department has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week clearing debris.
Monique Rodriguez is interim emergency manager with Tempe. She says the Red Cross was seeing hurricane level damage.
“Arizona as a whole is not ready for hurricane-type events, but we definitely started identifying the needs and being able to pull in those resources to start making things move along and get people the resources," Rodriguez said.
Congressman Greg Stanton, who represents Tempe’s district, recently visited a storm resource center and said officials are developing a case for FEMA assistance.
“We hope that the administration will quickly agree to that based upon the evidence that the citizens of Tempe are providing. And if so, then we can do a lot more long-term support for the residents here in Tempe," Stanton said.
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The rate of opioid overdose deaths, among most age groups, has been on the rise in recent years in Maricopa County — and most of those deaths were classified as unintentional. It’s one reason why the city of Tempe is making it easier to get free Narcan. -
Democratic Rep. Janeen Connolly is a freshman lawmaker from District 8, which covers downtown Tempe and the surrounding areas. It’s an historically safe Democratic district, but she wanted to talk to voters who didn’t vote for her — because she represents them, too. -
Tempe is developing a new 25-year transportation plan. The goal is to make basic essentials — like shopping, schools and healthcare services — accessible to all residents within a 20-minute walk, bike ride or by public transportation. -
Tempe, Gilbert, Scottsdale and Tucson have joined 85 other plaintiffs in the Fire Apparatus Antitrust Litigation. -
Tempe officials say they will not seek another company to replace the system. In Cave Creek, officials say all Flock cameras were removed after one was stolen.
