All 11 members of the Tennessee congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the “swift approval” of Governor Bill Lee’s request for a major disaster declaration due to severe storms that devastated communities across Middle Tennessee over the weekend.
On December 9, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes ripped through Middle Tennessee. The storms caused six fatalities and dozens of injuries, produced significant damage to nearly 1,900 homes, and destroyed over 500 homes, according to initial reports.
Governor Lee is requesting Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, and Sumner counties, along with Hazard Mitigation statewide.
The severe storms and tornadoes in Middle TN over the weekend devastated families, home, and communities across the region. I joined @MarshaBlackburn and the TN Delegation in sending a letter to @POTUS urging swift approval of @GovBillLee’s major disaster declaration request. pic.twitter.com/bVtnev3sUD
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) December 13, 2023
“We write to urge swift approval of Governor Bill Lee’s request for a major disaster declaration pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act due to severe weather occurring on December 9, 2023,” the lawmakers representing the Volunteer State wrote to the president.
“On behalf of the State of Tennessee, we urge you to approve this request as soon as possible,” the delegation added.
The letter was led by U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who was joined by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and U.S. Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01), Tim Burchett (R-TN-02), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04), Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), John Rose (R-TN-06), Mark Green (R-TN-07), David Kustoff (R-TN-08), and Steve Cohen (D-TN-09).
As of Tuesday, the National Weather Service confirmed seven tornadoes resulted in the damage throughout Middle Tennessee. In addition, as of 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, there were 9,000 reports of power outages statewide, down from a peak of 69,674 outages reported on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Crisis Cleanup has been activated for the entire state. Those who need assistance with damage from the tornadoes are urged to call the home cleanup hotline (615-488-1875) for help.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Tennessee Tornado Damage” by American Red Cross of Tennessee.
