Update, 5 p.m.: Gov. Bill Lee has announced approval of his request for an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration, making tornado recovery assistance available to Montgomery County, along with three others hit by the storms.
“State and local officials, first responders and volunteers continue to provide critical support to impacted Tennessee communities following significant storm damage,” said Lee. “As Tennessee rebuilds, I thank our federal partners for granting resources to further our severe weather response and recovery across the state.”
The disaster declaration includes FEMA’s Individual Assistance (IA) Program, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and Direct Federal Assistance.
Individuals can apply now for direct assistance through FEMA’s IA program online anytime or by phone at 1-800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Multilingual operators are available. Those eligible for FEMA’s IA program may receive help with rental assistance, home repair and personal property replacement, in addition to other uninsured or underinsured disaster losses.
Update, 3 p.m.: CDE is down to only about 700 customers still without power. The remaining outages are mostly around the Britton Springs Road and Evans Road areas west of Fort Campbell Boulevard and north of Purple Heart Parkway. The totals may change as power lines are activated and deactivated during repairs.
Update, 8:50 a.m.: CDE is down to 1,300 customers without power. They will have a “heavy presence of crews” in the Britton Springs Road area today, and drivers are urged to avoid tha area and find alternate routes while crews work.
Previously:
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Utility crews are continuing to make progress restoring power after the Clarksville tornado, with the number of homes without power down to below 2,000.
“Crews have had a very productive day!” CDE Lightband reported Tuesday night. “We have restored power to almost 18,000 customers; however, the work continues. Our outage map on the website is displaying incorrect numbers, but rest assured, we’re aware of your outages from the storm. Customers are still able to report outages, and our team is working diligently to resolve the situation. Thank you for your patience!”
At the height of the tornado’s impact Saturday afternoon, 20,000 households lost power.
Tornado damage, impact
The tornado touched down in Montgomery County at 1:41 p.m. Saturday on Fort Campbell just north of Sabre Airfield, according to a National Weather Service damage survey report. It became an EF-3 tornado with 150 mph winds. The path of destruction across north Clarksville was 600 yards wide and 11.33 miles long. It ended in the Exit 1 area, around Tylertown Road, before crossing into Kentucky.
Three people were killed in the tornado. As for injuries, 62 people were treated at the hospital, with nine of those being critical injuries.
Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency officials said Tuesday that 1,974 residential sites, 58 commercial sites and 3 public facilities were hit by the tornado. Of those, 243 residential sites were destroyed. Another 1,711 had damage. EMA noted that a “residential site” could be an individual home or a housing unit, such as a duplex or apartments.
Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools are closed for the rest of the week, and with winter break following, that means students are out until January.
Hundreds of people turned out Monday to assist with debris cleanup, and those efforts are now on hold while trash haulers catch up.
MORE: Do you need help? Shelter, supplies, laundry, storage, food and more available in Clarksville
MORE: How you can help tornado recovery, with supplies, volunteering, donations