Tuesday, May 25, 2010

NASHVILLE MOVES FORWARD WITH FLOOD RECOVERY EFFORTS

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 NASHVILLE MOVES FORWARD WITH FLOOD RECOVERY EFFORTS Saturday, May 1, 2010 marked the beginning of the 2010 flooding in Tennessee. Police, fire rescue crews and citizens worked diligently to get people out of their homes safely as the flood waters rose. Emergency responders conducted over 1,400 water-related rescues. By Sunday night it was estimated that the Nashville area had received a historic 13.51 inches of rainfall, and Mayor Karl Dean declared that Nashville was in a State of Emergency. The effort to recover and rebuild is now fully underway and constantly evolving. The Mayor's ongoing long-term recovery efforts include the formation of a full-time Recovery Team assigned to work out of the Mayor’s Office. The Recovery Team's focus will be getting help to those who need it. Most recently, the Recovery Team organized ReBuild Home Clinics, which provided one-on-one guidance to over 500 citizens in order to help them understand the various resources available for construction, permitting, legal aid and temporary or short-term housing. The Metro Department of Codes has issued nearly 1,300 building permits for the repair of flood damaged properties. Another crucial part of the recovery has been clearing Nashville's streets of the debris pulled from flooded homes. To date, Public Works has removed over 214 thousand yards, or 53 thousand tons of debris from Nashville's neighborhoods and streets. FLOOD RECOVERY ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE Flood victims are still being encouraged to register with FEMA in order to begin receiving federal flood assistance. FEMA can be contacted by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA. Flood victims in need of other non-emergency assistance can call United Way at 2-1-1 to be directed to the appropriate agency or closest non-profit distribution site for food, clothing and other needs. Individual departments of the Metropolitan Government, in conjunction with the Mayor's office, continue to strive to keep www.nashville.gov/flood up-to-date with the most current information on the issues that affect victims of the flood and citizens of Nashville.

No comments: