A Tempe city effort to raise money for victims of the October microburst may soon pay out.
Thousands of dollars in donations are on track to be distributed by the Tempe Community Action Agency. The city — along with donors — raised around $23,000 in what officials call “flexible” storm relief.
Tim Burch with the city said the TCAA will be put in charge of disseminating the funds.
“So that could be from some of the individuals in their apartments," Burch said, "they lost all their work clothing and that may not be something that their renter’s insurance covers. Your car got damaged, but you couldn’t afford the entirety of the deductible.”
Burch said the funds will help cover storm impacts that other emergency resources do not.
“A lot of the federal and regional dollars are very technical as to what they can be applied for, how frequently, what they can be used for. These community flexible funds allows us to look at every family situation, see what the gaps are and how we can help them move forward," Burch said.
More than 1,000 homes and businesses were damaged by the microburst. The city, Maricopa County and Gov. Katie Hobbs all declared a state of emergency for Tempe.
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