FEMA: Deputy Administrator Serino Visits Tennessee to Survey Ongoing Flood Recovery

NASHVILLE - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrator Rich Serino traveled to Tennessee to meet with state and local officials and see first-hand the ongoing recovery efforts following the severe weather and massive flooding that struck the state earlier this month. On Wednesday, Serino met with local officials and emergency managers in Clarksville and surveyed some of the progress the community has made in its recovery. On Thursday, Serino toured damage and recovery efforts in the Bellevue and Bordeaux neighborhoods of Nashville, where he talked with homeowners who, with help from FEMA Individual Assistance and volunteers from community faith-based organizations, had begun the process of cleaning out their homes.

 

Serino also met with Jim Bassham, the Director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, at the state Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and attended the monthly meeting of Tennessee Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), to thank them for their help and partnership in the long term recovery effort.

 

"Across this state, from community to community you see the same thing, Tennesseans pulling together to help each other recover from this devastating flood," said Deputy Administrator Serino. "We at FEMA have been proud to be part of that effort and work with Governor Bredesen and his team, to provide over $100 million to individuals in Tennessee, but we know there is a lot of work left to do and we will be here to support the recovery."

 

As of May 20 at 8:00 am, more than 48,000 Tennesseans have already registered with FEMA for assistance. More than 31,000 inspections have been completed and more than $109 million has been approved for assistance to individuals. More than twenty Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Tennessee to help survivors with important recovery information. Locations of these centers can be found online at www.fema.gov/assistance/opendrcs.shtm.

 

FEMA encourages everyone in Tennessee affected by the floods to register immediately for federal assistance. For those affected by the recent floods, you can register for federal assistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by visiting www.DisasterAssistance.gov. You can also visit m.fema.gov from your mobile device for information or visit the FEMA-TEMA Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TNDisasterInfo.

 

A number of Administration officials have traveled to Tennessee since the floods, including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills.

 

Serino's trip was the third trip to the state by FEMA leadership since the floods. Previously, FEMA Administrator Fugate, at the request of the President and Secretary of Homeland Security, made two trips to Tennessee to meet with state and local officials, and receive an on the ground briefing on the response efforts. He traveled extensively throughout the state, visiting both large metropolitan areas like Nashville and Memphis and more rural areas that were heavily affected by the storms, such as Humbolt and Dyersburg.

 

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FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.