Upper Dublin Township still rebuilding year after EF-2 tornado

UPPER DUBLIN TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Prior to Hurricane Ida, the images of a flooded Vine Street Expressway, Manayunk underwater, and an EF-2 tornado hitting Upper Dublin Township would have been unthinkable.

"You could see everything swirling. You could see trees swirling. A tree went through my living room through the front door," said Ambler resident Trish Menszak.

It's been almost a year since a tornado ripped through Stewart Creek Townhomes in Ambler. Even after all this time, homeowner Trish Menszak said her repairs were completed just two weeks ago.

"The whole thing is just really surreal," said Menszak. "One, you never expect this is going to happen to you. Two, you certainly don't think it's going to take a whole year before you can get into your house and get back to what's normal."

SEE ALSO: FEMA surveys tornado damage from Ida in Montgomery County, Pa.

"Walking through the bedrooms it was squish, squish, squish as you walked through because the water had soaked through the carpeting," said William Koenig, who lives in Upper Dublin.

And she's one of the lucky ones. There are still plenty of homes with tarps up, Xs on doors, and many in the process of rebuilding.

A spokesperson for Upper Dublin Township said of the 115 homes that were deemed uninhabitable after the storm, fewer than half are still unoccupied.

"We are still struggling," said Traci Clapham, Upper Dublin Lutheran Church tornado relief coordinator. "Every person has been changed by this event. Some things are just truly heartbreaking, what things people have had to experience."

The community is rallying together. This past weekend, Upper Dublin Lutheran Church hosted an event to share resources and support.

And as the rebuilding continues, the Red Cross says it's preparing for the next storm.

"Have a plan to have an emergency kit out there and know it can happen to you," said Guy Triano, the CEO of the Red Cross' Eastern Pennsylvania Region.