Relief fund set up to aid victims of Revere tornado

REVERE – The Revere Tornado Relief Fund is collecting donations to assist residents across the community affected by the rare tornado that tore through the city last week.?Total damage is estimated to be in the many millions of dollars. Unfortunately as is the case in many catastrophes, the cost being incurred by victims will not be reimbursed by private insurance,” Mayor Daniel Rizzo said.Revere?s central business district and surrounding neighborhoods were badly damaged July 28 when they were hit by an EF-2 tornado. Officials have since learned, however, that the damages do not meet the qualifications necessary to receive state or federal aid.?The city has been left with a devastating gash, a quarter mile wide and two miles long through the heart of our city,” said Rizzo.The mayor said that dozens of families either lost their homes and businesses or suffered extensive property damage during the storm and that the fund was created in an effort to help alleviate the financial burden of cleaning up and rebuilding the community.Former Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone was selected by Mayor Rizzo to oversee the fund.Leone said that his mission is to maximize resources and funds coming into the community while minimizing the cost of administration and operations.?Establishing a framework, a system and a process will be extremely important as we go along,” Leone said. “Unfortunately, there have been similar disasters and funds across this country, so we do have the best practices and models to use as we set up our systems.”He said the fund is currently working to establish criteria to determine who the applicants are and who qualifies.?We will conduct meetings and hearings as appropriate to listen to this community and then determine compensation amounts and aid as we deem appropriate,” Leone said. “Again, timeliness, integrity and efficiency will all be watched for in what we do here.”A representative from the mayor?s office said on Monday that the office expects to release information later this week regarding how to obtain applications to apply for aid.The mayor?s office also released a statement on Monday morning expressing gratitude toward the many agencies that assisted in tornado recovery efforts.?Mayor Rizzo and the City of Revere are indebted to neighboring cities and towns, state agencies and nonprofits that assisted the community in the hours and days after the tornado,” the statement said, and it went on to address the impressive response and continued optimism of city residents.?The support and compassion they displayed for one another during the hours and days after the tornado hit was incredible to see and once again reaffirms my belief that Revere indeed, is a very special place,” the statement said.Kristin Bornstein may be reached at [email protected].