Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee provided an update following the devastation of Hurricane Helene across the state at the headquarters of Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Wednesday morning.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee provided an update following the devastation of Hurricane Helene across the state at the headquarters of Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Wednesday morning.
Along with the governor, representatives from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) and TEMA were expected to speak.
Lee began the conference stating that the volunteer spirit is “alive and well” in Tennessee, highlighting the volunteer efforts and response from professionals in the eastern part of the state.
“We have almost 400 National Guardsmen on the ground in the region, and those national guardsmen by the way are operating airlifts with Blackhawks, a number of those Blackhawks in the area, I think nine, are delivering supplies like water and other necessary supplies to residents that have been cut off in the region,” explained Lee.
He explained 400 TDOT workers in the region have inspected 300 bridges. There were 50 road closures, which is down to 25.
“We have 200 or so troopers in the region to support local law enforcement from everything from traffic control to just general support for sheriff’s agencies in the region. There has been a significant response and there is a tremendous amount of work to do,” said Lee.
According to Lee, a multi-agency response center will open soon to help those who were in the hardest hit areas.
“We are opening multi-agency response centers in the hardest hit areas so that people can get their drivers licenses, food assistance, or get human services or child services. Those are all going to be located in one place.”
According to TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan, officials are continuing to survey damage and at last check there were at least 600 structures damaged in four counties.
“120 of those are considered destroyed, 313 are considered as having major damage and the rest are in other categories. That number has greatly increased since yesterday and we’ll have a lot more numbers in the coming days,” said Sheehan.
Sheehan also announced that survivors who need assistance with cleaning up can call the Crisis Cleanup Hotline at 844-965-1386.
Deputy Governor and Commissioner of Transportation for Tennessee Butch Eley said officials are focused on three things about reopening and eventually repairing roadways: connectivity, assessment and construction.
“The connectivity phase is totally geared toward getting where they need to go. We need to get people accessible to services whether it be healthcare, hospital, food, and shelter. Those are things we are focused on first and then to the assessment and construction,” said Eley.
Lee spent Tuesday surveying the damage in East Tennessee and meeting with victims first-hand.
Nearly 160 people are dead in the wake of Helene across the southeast with at least eight in Tennessee.