Springfield Rebuild
The students from the YMCA of Springfield (see Our Team for student bios) submitted this photo gallery of the volunteer work that they did after the tornado ravaged their city. Many organizations were calling for volunteers and the students stepped up to help their communities with the Rebuilding Together organization.
After the storm, the area was proclaimed a disaster area and FEMA moved in. Many communities came together to help one another, uniting Springfield. This gave many residents hope for the future despite the devastation left before them. There were some people, however, that were not welcome, the gawkers. The rare weather event left many curious, and interested in looking at the devastation. The residents saw these Distruction Peepers as hampering the relief effort.
6 months later
Six months later, there is still alot of work being done to rebuild the city. According to Masslive news,"Of the 577 structures that were damaged by the tornado in Springfield, 513 have been repaired, cleared, or work is in progress, Hayes said. There were 3,106 building permits obtained in the tornado-affected neighborhoods, totaling $17.6 million in estimated construction."