Officials brief Gov. on Helene relief, request better alert system

NASHVILLE — Tennessee emergency officials updated Gov. Bill Lee on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts during a budget meeting Tuesday.In addition, they asked the state to invest in stronger emergency response tools to deal with future disasters.This week, the governor will meet with the heads of state departments to kick off the budgetary process for the next fiscal year.The first such hearing began with TEMA and its parent organization, the Tennessee Department of the Military. Prior to the funding requests being made, Lee asked Patrick Sheehan, director of TEMA, for a breakdown of the Hurricane Helene recovery in Northeast Tennessee.Sheehan lauded the state's response to the disaster through bridge reconstruction, debris removal and the distribution of funds."We took some extraordinary measures to remove debris, to own the problem on behalf of our local partners," said Sheehan. "That's not typically the way we would do it, but the scale of the problem was beyond their ability."Sheehan said the cleanup efforts have allowed for tourism to return to the area. He said, because the water was cleared enough of debris, Carter County was able to host the Bassmaster College Classic fishing tournament last month on Watauga Lake."That normalcy is so important to recovery," said Sheehan.Sheehan said he and Commissioner of the Department of Finance and Administration Jim Bryson even went rafting on the Pigeon River and saw firsthand the return of that normalcy.Funding RequestsTEMA made a total of five requests to the governor, fewer than in the previous year.TEMA's first requested funds to implement a statewide mass alert system, which issues notifications for disasters such as tornadoes or flood advisoriesSheehan described the current system as too "blunt." He said it doesn't allow for officials to issue notifications with much context. On top of that, many areas use different kinds of alert systems, which can cause problems during large-scale disasters such as Hurricane Helene.Sheehan pointed to the July floods in Kerr County, Texas, in which many deaths were attributed to the county's lack of an effective emergency alert system. This relatively new system would standardize notification systems across all Tennessee counties.TEMA also requested media monitoring software. During Helene, Sheehan said, rumors circulated through social media which TEMA was unaware of until they had taken hold."It would have been a great opportunity for us to hold a press conference and get ahead of that sentiment," said Sheehan. "But by the time we knew it was there, it was a roar."He said the software would help the TEMA communications team anticipate and respond to those kinds of information.TEMA's also requested funds to help administer the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides flood insurance to renters and property owners. Communities opted into participating are required to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances.Sheehan said more than 400 communities in the state have opted into the program, but many aren't holding up their end of the bargain."Managing the engagement with 402 communities, tracking who their flood plain managers are …has been difficult," said Sheehan.Major General Warner A. Ross with the Military Department made another two requests, the first for an additional $250,000 in additional recurring funding for deferred maintenance to four TNDM facilities. A second requested an additional $390,000 for 30 high-frequency radios.To finish the meeting, Lee emphasized utilizing equipment and practices that have been proven effective by other states.