On Tuesday, the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art marked a milestone in its recovery efforts nearly a year after the devastating floodwaters from Hurricane Ida, writes Jen Samuel for the Daily Local News. 

“After the historic floodwaters from Ida overtook and devastated the Brandywine’s 15-acre Chadds Ford campus on September 1, it was hard to imagine that almost a year later we’d be in the position we are in now, having substantially completed our initial emergency flood recovery phase,” said Virginia Logan, chief executive officer of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. 

Damages from the emergency phase of recovery were close to $7 million. This excludes mitigation work that is yet to be completed, including flood hardening and elevating campus buildings. 

Logan used the opportunity during the event to thank federal, state, and county elected officials who provided their help in the recovery efforts, including U.S. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, state Rep. Craig Williams, and state Sen. John Kane. 

These lawmakers “helped us secure the crucial public assistance grant from FEMA and PEMA,” along with support from other local services, she said. 

Read more about the recovery efforts in the Daily Local News.