Storm-damaged Shelby, Tipton counties named federal disaster areas
Among 10 in state that will get aid; body found near bridge in Raleigh
The Commercial Appeal | By Staff
On the day a body was recovered from the area's worst storm in years, the federal government declared Shelby and Tipton counties disaster areas. The declaration, requested by Gov. Phil Bredesen, clears the way for federal aid to areas damaged by flooding. It brings to 10 the number of Tennessee counties declared disaster areas. Four of the counties are in West Tennessee -- Dyer and McNairy were also added Wednesday -- which was hit hard by flooding and wind. The other six to receive the designation -- Cheatham, Davidson, Hickman, Montgomery, Perry and Williamson -- are in Middle Tennessee.
That bit of good news was tempered by the discovery of a body in Raleigh, which may be that of a a 32-year-old man who disappeared in floodwaters Saturday morning. The body had not been positively identified late Wednesday. However, Memphis police issued a Mid-South missing-persons alert Wednesday morning for Terrance D. Williams, who abandoned his car in rising floodwaters at about 5 a.m. Saturday as he was driving near Raleigh-LaGrange and Parkview Drive. At about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, officers searching the area found a body near a bridge in the 2600 block of Northumberland, MPD Communications Supervisor Michael Spencer said.
Severe weekend storms and record rainfall inundated areas from Memphis to Nashville, and National Weather Service officials said Raleigh was one of the most heavily hit. Bob Nations, Shelby County Office of Preparedness director, told county commissioners Wednesday that there will be a high price to repair devastation caused by flooding in Millington and other parts of the county, with significant damage to public infrastructure such as electrical and sewage systems. "It's a multimillion-dollar loss," he said.
Bredesen plans to ask legislators to dip into state reserve funds by "tens of millions" of dollars to help hard-hit cities and counties pay for repairs that federal disaster relief does not cover. Local governments that are covered by a federal disaster declaration are expected to pay 25 percent of the costs of certain repairs to government buildings and other infrastructure while the federal government pays 75 percent. But state Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz said the state traditionally steps up and pays half of the local government's share, or 12.5 percent of the repair costs. The governor asked for a federal disaster declaration for 52 Tennessee counties. President Barack Obama approved the first four of those -- Nashville-Davidson County and three surrounding counties -- on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, at the Millington Crisis Center -- which was founded as a ministry in 1987 when similar flooding struck Millington -- Lois Wilber worried about the children of families driven from their homes by flooding. "When we think about devastation, we don't think about the emotional devastation that the kids have," Wilber said, pausing as she handled a steady influx of people seeking help and offering donations at the center at 8133 Wilkinsville. "We know that they are resilient, we know they can bounce back, but when you lose everything, they lose hope," she said. "And it's just becoming a reality to a lot of people that they really have lost everything."
First Baptist Church, 5010 W. Union, is hosting the American Red Cross Mid-South Chapter shelter, which housed about 70 people overnight Tuesday, said Millington Fire Chief Gary Graves. Graves said a preliminary estimate of flood costs for Millington government alone is $11 million.
Interim Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford led a briefing outside the church Wednesday, with Health Department officials providing assurances that the flooding triggered no threats from mosquitos, drinking water or tetanus for Millington residents. Carliss Chastain, 57, of Covington drove up to the shelter with $300 in cleaning supplies that she purchased to donate as president of the United Methodist Women. "When I read about it, I thought, 'Wow, I've got to do something,'" she said.
How to help
The Millington Crisis Center at 8133 Wilkinsville is accepting donations of items including new games, toys, diapers, blankets and toilet paper to help flood victims. Checks can be mailed to the Millington Crisis Center at P.O. Box 1541, Millington, TN 38083. Crosspointe Baptist Church, 8850 U.S. 51 in Millington, also is accepting perishable food items to help flood victims.
Staff reporters Daniel Connolly, Sherri Drake Silence, Kevin McKenzie, Richard Locker and Jody Callahan contributed to this article.