TN Tornado Outbreak: Federal assistance available for residents in 4 counties impacted by tornadoes

MADISON, Tenn. (WKRN) — Since President Joe Biden approved an expedited federal disaster declaration for the Middle Tennessee areas impacted by Saturday’s tornado outbreak, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has seen a flood of applications.

“If my life was lost, that would be a different thing, but I wouldn’t be standing here, but I’m still alive. All this stuff can be replaced,” said Deborah Sharpe, a Madison resident.

Sharpe is one of the many Middle Tennessee residents affected by the tornadoes that blew through on Saturday, Dec. 9. She also plans to apply for FEMA assistance, which would allow her to rebuild and replace belongings as needed.

“You don’t know what you need until you go to use it,” Sharpe said. “Then you know what you need, so I’m not sure all the areas that I’m going to need some help and some funding in, but I’m sure it’ll be something.”

According to Gov. Bill Lee’s office, the expedited major disaster declaration makes federal funding available to Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, and Sumner counties.

FEMA said the funding is locally executed, state-managed, and federally supported when the situation exceeds what the state can handle.

“We made sure to collect data, take a lot of pictures, make sure that we wrote down names of people that we needed to follow up with, so we were relieved last night when we heard about the disaster declaration, but at the same time, we were prepared for it,” explained Hendersonville Mayor Jamie Clary.

“There’s not a cookie-cutter way when it comes to disasters because these affect every single household differently, and so we want to know your story,” said Craig Browning, federal spokesperson for FEMA. “We want to know how this affected you, right? If you’ve had to relocate because your house is unlivable at the moment, potentially FEMA can help with that reimbursement of those potential hotel stays or you needing to relocate, basic home repairs.”

The recovery assistance also allows for low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses, as well as hazard mitigation, which focuses on reducing future risk to lives and properties in a natural disaster.

According to officials, FEMA will be out in neighborhoods dealing with the aftermath of the storms over the next few days, ready to answer questions, address concerns, guide people through the application process for disaster assistance, and provide information on support services. These representatives should be easy to spot with their clear identification badges.

“They’re going to be going door to door in the affected communities and meeting survivors where they are,” Browning told News 2. “If they need to register right then, they can do that. If you need to change something on your application, they can do that.”

As FEMA heads out to speak with people, officials urge you to beware of scammers pretending to be from FEMA or other federal programs.

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To apply for federal disaster assistance, click here. When you apply, make sure to have the following information ready: