After a year of uncertainty, 193 people will soon be getting compensation for damages caused by an EF-2 tornado that ripped through Essa Township on June 17, 2014.

According to the Essa Disaster Relief Committee (EDRC), the independent body charged with divvying out funding, a total of $146,290 was raised by members of the community.

The township was hopeful that the province would match donations through the Disaster Relief Program, but the town’s application was turned down.

In a letter obtained by CTV News, the EDRC says 35 people entered applications for relief funding in March. That’s less than 20 per cent of the known impacted residents.

The application was based on guidelines by the provincial government and was designed to assess damage.

“Two of the 35 applications met most of the eligibility requirements and criteria outlined in the application process,” the letter states. Those two people will get some of the money.

Since so few entered an application, the EDRC decided the best option available was to evenly split the remaining money between the other 33 applicants,and an additional 158 people who reported damage.

The latter group would have been individuals who signed a registration form at a residents’ meeting or reported damage to the municipality in the days that followed the tornado.

People receiving cheques do not know how much they will get until they open the envelope. The committee has decided to keep amounts confidential.

The tornado damaged over 100 homes, many of which were destroyed. In its wake, the tornado left roughly 300 people homeless. Total damage was estimated at $30 million.

Essa Township Mayor Terry Dowdall says he respects the work done by the five person committee and is looking forward to closing this chapter in the township’s history.

“I hope and believe the process that was done was in the best interest of the people there. The committee decided that they needed a bit more time and that's what they did, they listened, they are great people and have to stand by them and move forward.”

The EDRC says the distribution process is now complete and residents can expect their cheques by the end of the month.