FEMA opens Nashville intake center to aid tornado victims
Published 8:33 am Friday, March 13, 2020
NASHVILLE (AP) — As residents continued to dig out from a series of deadly tornadoes that hit Tennessee last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it was opening an intake center in Nashville on Tuesday.
The center is located at the Lee Chapel AME Church in North Nashville. Residents with uninsured or underinsured losses are also urged to download the FEMA mobile app or visit the agency’s website at DisasterAssistance.gov.
About 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of Nashville in Putnam County, FEMA said it was opening a disaster recovery center Wednesday.
Only one of 92 people treated at a hospital there remains hospitalized and is in stable condition, Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said Tuesday. More than 6,000 volunteers have been to the area assisting with cleanup and recovery, he said.
“The outpouring of volunteers has been truly amazing,” he said.
A relief fund for tornado victims in Cookeville and Putnam County has received more than $587,000, Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton said.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt University’s baseball team announced it was canceling upcoming games against neighboring Belmont University and Lipscomb University. Both games were to be played at First Horizon Park, which suffered tornado damage. The teams are working to reschedule.
The National Weather Services has said the storm that killed 24 people in Tennessee during the pre-dawn hours of March 3 spawned 10 tornadoes. The most deadly of those hit Putnam County, about an hour east of Nashville, where 18 people died and another 88 were injured.