TEMA FLASH REPORT #11 – Tennessee Tornadoes and Severe Weather

Sunday, March 08, 2020 | 01:04pm

SEOC Activation: Level 3 – State of Emergency

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Three Disaster Assistance Centers open in Tennessee to help survivors with the federal disaster assistance application process.
  • Major Disaster Declaration is place for three Tennessee counties – Wilson, Putnam, and Davidson – and impact individuals can apply for assistance at www.disasterassistance.gov.
  • TEMA’s tornado and severe weather recovery resource page has helpful information for tornado and severe weather survivors.
  • A State of Emergency remains in place in Tennessee and the State Emergency Operations Center is activated in Nashville, Tenn.
  • Tennessee has 24 confirmed storm-related fatalities.

CURRENT SITUATION

There are three Disaster Assistance Centers open in Metro Nashville, with planning in place to also open Centers in Wilson and Putnam counties to help disaster survivors with services and the application process for federal assistance.

The Disaster Assistance Centers are located at:

o   Hermitage Community Center, 3720 James Kay Ln., Hermitage, TN
o   East Park Community Center, 600 Woodland St., Nashville, TN
o   Hadley Community Center, 1037 28th Ave. N., Nashville, TN

Impacted individuals in three, federally-declared counties – Wilson, Putnam, and Davidson – can begin now to register with FEMA and apply for federal assistance if eligible.  Individuals can begin the registration process by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov, or calling FEMA at 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-758, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., ET, 7 days a week.

After registering for disaster assistance, FEMA may refer applicants to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In times of disasters, the SBA offers low-interest loans for businesses, homeowners and renters. The SBA will contact businesses, homeowners and renters by telephone in follow up with information about its disaster loan program. There’s no obligation to accept an SBA loan, but the SBA has the largest source of federal disaster recovery funds available to survivors who apply.

Joint preliminary damage assessments are forthcoming in Benton, Carroll, and Gibson counties in order to secure possible federal reimbursement assistance to these county governments for debris removal and emergency measures during the severe weather event.

FATALITIES

The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed 24 weather-related fatalities.

o   18 fatalities in Putnam County
o   3 fatalities in Wilson County
o   2 fatalities in Davidson County
o   1 fatality in Benton County.

POWER OUTAGES & UTILITIES

Around 7,000 remain without power in Tennessee, primarily in Metro Nashville.

SHELTERS

The following shelters are open in Tennessee

o  Centennial Sportsplex, 222 25th Ave N., Nashville, TN

o  Highland Heights Church of Christ, 505 N. Cumberland, Lebanon, TN

o  Smith Springs Community Center, 2801 Smith Springs Rd., Nashville, TN

For information on finding a shelter, visit:  https://www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/find-an-open-shelter.html.

IMPORTANT WEBSITES and PHONE NUMBERS

·       Those who need help with debris removal can contact the Crisis Cleanup Hotline at 1-800-451-1954.

·       Airbnb is providing no-cost accommodations to Tennessee storm and tornado survivors, www.airbnb.com/tornado20.

·       Tennessee’s Crisis Phone Line is 1-855-274-7471 to speak with a trained mental health professional.

·       Volunteer in Davidson County to help survivors with Hands on Nashville, 615-298-1108 or www.hon.org.

·       Volunteer to help survivors in other Tennessee counties with TN VOAD, https://tnvoad.shutterfly.org.

·       Avoid disaster-related scams with help from the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, 615-741-4743 or www.tn.gov/consumer.

·       Get help on filing insurance claims, hiring contractors, and reporting misconduct with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, www.tn.gov/commerce. Mobile claims units are located in Nashville and Cookeville.

·       Local short-term or permanent rental housing options with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, www.TNHousingSearch.org or 1-877-428-8844.

·       The Tennessee Department of Safety has Driver Services Mobile Units in Cookeville and Nashville to help those who have lost IDs during the storms, http://bit.ly/32PaTuF.

FORECAST

·       Memphis:  Mostly sunny with a high of 67 and a low of 54, and a 90 percent chance of rain Monday.

·       Nashville:  Sunny with a high of 69 and a low of 58, and a slight chance of rain Monday.

·       Knoxville:  Partly cloudy with a high of 64 and a low of 35, and a slight chance of rain Monday.

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