FEMA and The Twisters

Tennessee was among one of five southern states hit by twisters last night as the polls closed.  The storm, with gusts reportedly up to 207 miles per hour made its way across the state overnight.  By 5:00 a.m. all local television stations in the Chattanooga area were broadcasting only weather warnings, watches and updates.

There is severe damage and destruction in the counties just west of Chattanooga, one brick house being picked up by wind and dropped nearby.  But, the real damage is in the western part of the state, where Sears had its roof ripped off in Memphis, mobile homes were tossed around and smashed, Union University in Jackson, Tennessee had dorms leveled while students were trapped.  Nine students were removed by rescuers from the rubble.  In all over 1,000 homes in Tennessee were destroyed at the foundation.  Thirty Tennesseeans are among the dead. 

The warning signals saved lives.  Reports stated:

In Jackson, Matt Taylor, a junior at Union University, was scouring the campus Wednesday for his Jeep after a close call that left him with staples in his scalp and a bandages on his leg.

On Tuesday night, Mr. Taylor hunkered down in Waters Commons, a residence hall, when the sirens went off, but when a door blew open he was sucked outside, bringing with him a gum-ball machine he had grabbed hold of. “By the time I got back in, it exploded,” he said of the building.

Although 80 percent of the residential section of the campus was demolished or severely damaged, there were no fatalities, for which officials credited the college’s disaster plan. Across the region, residents said they owed their lives to warning systems.

Even as far east as Marion and Hamilton Counties in Tennessee wind damage is evident, although not to the degree of the central and western parts of the state.

Most of the severe damage was done in rural areas, but the entire state has been affected to some degree.  Across the five states affected by last nights wrath, fifty-two are reported dead. 

Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State and volunteers immediately took action.  Now, the real test will begin.  FEMA has yet another chance to get it right.  So far, FEMA staff has been surveying the damage.  But, once again we aren’t talking about Wall Street being leveled.  We are talking about Main Street.  We are talking about middle class to poor and low income rural residents in a state that doesn’t seem to matter all that much in the overall scheme of things. 

So far, FEMA is making an assessment and President Bush will arrive on Friday for a tornado damage photo op.  Maybe I’m being a little too cynical, but having watched FEMA do nothing in the Katrina aftermath and hold fake press conferences during the California wildfires, I am only encouraged that in Tennessee the citizens remember that we are all Volunteers.

There will be close scrutiny of FEMA’s reaction… if they do react, rather than just talk about it.