County must wait to see if disaster assistance awarded

Rescue workers survey the damage on Beacon Drive shortly after the storm ripped through the county. The damage to this home exposed a natural gas leak which was repaired.

Warren County emergency services, including the Emergency Management Agency, local law enforcement, highway department and a variety of utilities, reacted quickly to the damaged areas, the worst of which were along a line centering on C. Rody Road, Beacon Drive, Bethany Road, Crisp Springs Road and Castle Street.

Tennessee Emergency Management Association representative Jeremy Heidt said around 11 counties reported damage from the storm, with the worst hit so far being Giles and Lawrence counties.

‘We have people out assessing damage in all of the areas hit by the storm,’ Heidt said. ‘But there isn’t enough information yet to give any estimates on totals.’

Heidt also said the storm hasn’t been officially designated as a tornado as yet.

‘Some of the people TEMA has in the field said they have seen straight line wind damage and what appears to be damage from tornado activity,’ Heidt said. ‘But that’s the weather service’s call. They will have to examine the damage to determine if it was a tornado.’

EMA director Percy Phifer was working with TEMA representative Jim Thacker yesterday to assess the damage in an effort to determine whether Warren County will qualify for disaster assistance.

Phifer said he was pleased with the response from local emergency services, which have been working around the clock to help those who suffered storm damage and get power back to the damaged areas.

‘It’s going as well as can be expected,’ Phifer said. ‘Nobody got injured, that’s the greatest thing. Thank God for that.’

Phifer said, from what he had seen so far, there was some extensive damage to homes in some areas.

‘Probably five to six are totally destroyed,’ Phifer said. ‘It started on Pocahontas Road and just skipped all the way to Starlight Road. We have a lot of territory to cover so we don’t know the extent of the damage yet. But we do know there were no problems that required medical attention.

‘As to whether we’ll be declared a disaster area,’ Phifer said, ‘we won’t know that until we get all the damage assessments in. We’ve got to meet with the Warren County Tax Assessor (Carolyn Miller) this afternoon. We’ve got percentage of damages figured which we will be giving her, and she’ll give us a total assessment. When we get that, we’ll send it in to TEMA and they will look at it and see whether we get a declaration.’

Though some say the damage will be in the millions, Phifer said it’s too early to make any kind of estimate.

‘It’s too soon to tell just how much,’ Phifer said, ‘but it’s a tremendous amount, because you have to figure in trees, livestock, all that kind of thing, not just homes. The one thing we can’t count is outbuildings, like barns and sheds. They don’t count that, and there’s a lot of that kind of damage.’

County Executive John Pelham said county emergency services are working hard to clear the damage and provide aid to victims.

‘Yesterday as it started unfolding for me my main concern, as Percy and I worked together, certainly was the well-being of all the citizens in Warren County,’ Pelham said. ‘Trying to determine all the locations where the tornado had touched down. We still haven’t had the opportunity to travel to all the locations where there has been damage, but we tried to go to as many as we could last night before dark.’

Pelham said he was impressed with the response of everyone involved, including emergency services, utilities and local agencies like the Red Cross, which provided food for workers at the command center at the airport.

‘Everybody worked so hard,’ Pelham said. ‘And I’m so grateful for everyone that helped us. Last night we were just trying to make sure that we didn’t have anyone that was in need of housing, food or anything before night fell.

‘Yesterday was, ‘Is everybody OK,’ Pelham said. ‘Today, for me, it’s kind of changed gears, and I’m working with all the different agencies, like the county highway department, on clearing and removing the debris.

‘And then we have to work with Tax Assessor Carolyn Miller, who came in today, to put a list together of all the addresses hit by the storm so she can put a dollar amount on the damage here in our county. After we turn that in to Mr. Thacker, he will let us know if we’re going to qualify for disaster assistance on this.’