FEMA Payouts For Tennesseans Affected By Winter Ice Storm Surpass $36 Million

Applications still open for individuals in 29 affected counties.

Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.

By Cassandra Stephenson [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has obligated more than $36 million in disaster assistance to Tennesseans affected by a January severe winter storm since President Donald Trump approved individual assistance on April 11. 

The storm brought ice and freezing temperatures, ravaging thousands of trees and knocking out power for more than 300,000 customers across the state, including more than 225,000 in Nashville.

Gov. Bill Lee requested an expedited major disaster declaration on Jan. 28, nearly a week after the storm began. Trump approved up to $60.6 million in public aid — which can help with emergency response costs and repairs for public roads, utilities and buildings — for select Tennessee counties on Feb. 6. 

FEMA obligated nearly $6 million for public assistance as of May 29, $4.8 million of which is designated for emergency work.

In the 48 days since Trump green-lit individual aid, FEMA approved 16,124 applications, obligating $7.9 million in housing assistance and $28.6 million in assistance for other needs, as of May 29.

Individual assistance programs can provide support services and financial aid for people who are uninsured or underinsured, but FEMA states that assistance is “not a substitute for insurance and cannot compensate for all losses caused by a disaster.” 

Individual assistance is approved less often than public assistance; a review of more than 2,000 major disaster declarations in the United States since 1985 shows that just over 25% of declarations included assistance for individuals.

FEMA Housing Assistance can help cover costs associated with emergency lodging or displacement expenses and home repairs. Other Needs Assistance can help cover other costs related to the disaster, including:

• Displacement
• Child care
• Home cleaning and sanitizing 
• Repair or replacement of certain personal property
• Medical or dental expenses for disaster-caused illnesses or injuries
• Funeral expenses for deaths caused by the disaster
• Daily vehicle repair or replacement
• Moving and storage
• Flood insurance policy for homes damaged by floods that are within a Special Flood Hazard Area

Inspections may be required to confirm disaster-related damage to homes and property.

Residents of the following counties may be eligible for assistance: 

• Benton
• Carroll
• Cheatham
• Chester
• Clay
• Davidson
• Decatur
• Dickson
• Dyer
• Fayette
• Hardeman
• Hardin
• Henderson
• Hickman
• Lewis
• Macon
• Madison
• Maury
• McNairy
• Montgomery
• Perry
• Robertson
• Rutherford
• Shelby
• Sumner
• Trousdale
• Wayne
• Williamson
• Wilson

Affected individuals can apply for individual assistance through DisasterAssistance.gov, through FEMA’s mobile app or by calling 800-621-3362. 

A list of Disaster Recovery Center locations and hours in some of the affected counties is available at fema.gov/disaster/4898.