Norwood Homes Affected By Floods Eligible For Grant Money

NORWOOD, MA — Homeowners with major property damage from Sunday's storms might be able to receive funding from the town. Norwood's Board of Selectmen approved the establishment of an emergency residential assistance program at Tuesday night's meeting.

Applications will be available to fill out and submit online beginning Thursday, on the Town of Norwood website.

Through the town's emergency program, $180,000 in funding will be made available to those affected by the storm, and the Town is actively seeking additional resources from state and federal officials to assist the community.

The grants will be given based off of two tiers: the first tier for those with 80% or less than the area household median income, at approximately $65,500, and the second tier for those with 81-150% of the area household median income.

"We're committed to doing everything we can to assist residents in need," General Manager Mazzucco said. "Norwood is full of resilient, compassionate people, and together, we will weather this situation and come out on the other side of this. I'd like to thank the Board of Selectmen for their fast action last night in approving this emergency grant program to start allocating immediate assistance to residents."

Town officials are also working closely with Norwood Hospital to help the hospital prepare to reopen as quickly as possible, and state officials arrived at around 2:20 p.m. Wednesday to tour the facility to assess the damage from the storm.

The patients were evacuated by the Norwood Fire Department with assistance from a number of mutual aid agencies between Sunday and Monday. The Canton, Sharon, Westwood, Walpole, Norfolk and Stoughton Fire Departments responded to the scene for a second alarm to provide additional manpower. Many agencies from the region assisted in the response, and a full list of mutual aid agencies is provided below.

"We are very thankful to all the agencies who assisted us in quickly and efficiently transporting so many patients from the hospital, as well as our police partners who helped with traffic flow and the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center which played a critical part in dispatching mutual aid and providing logistical support," Norwood Fire Chief George Morrice said. "This was a large mission and it was truly a team effort that shows the strength of the area's mutual aid system and the immense value of these partnerships."

A hotline has also been set up for individuals who are looking for a loved one who was a patient at Norwood Hospital and had to be evacuated. The hotline number is: 781-769-4000.

Area residents who are in medical distress must call 911 or visit an Emergency Room at an alternate hospital in the region due to the temporary closure of Norwood Hospital.

Officials remain in the process of assessing the damage caused by the flooding and Norwood Hospital is temporarily closed until further notice.