[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 57 (Monday, May 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2568-S2569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EASTERN TENNESSEE DISASTERS
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I have just returned from visiting east
Tennessee where there were devastating tornadoes last week. The
President, at the request of our entire congressional delegation, has
declared four of our counties--Washington, Greene, Hamilton, and
Bradley--as disaster areas, and we thank him for his prompt attention
to that.
I visited today northern Hamilton County, just north of Chattanooga,
north of where the new Volkswagen plant will be located. In Tennessee
last week 36 men and women lost their lives as a result of these
storms. The area I visited is one of the two areas most affected, the
other being Washington and Greene Counties, where our Governor was
today.
Someone asked me following my visit if anything about it shocked me.
I said: It always shocks me when I see the consequences of a
devastating flood or especially a massive tornado. This one had winds
of nearly 200 miles an hour. Wherever you stand, you try to put
yourself in the shoes of someone who might have been there when the
tornado came through and try to imagine what it would be like. You see
this funnel coming and know it will only interfere with your life for
about 20 or 30 seconds; but after that, it will all be devastation.
There is no way you cannot be shocked by it, and there is no way I can
put myself in the shoes of those who were there.
I saw one man who was there, Arthur Bates, 70 years old, and I saw
his house which was completely demolished. His upright piano was
upside-down. He told me he had killed a calf and left to take some meat
to the preacher. He had been gone for about 5 minutes when the tornado
hit his house.
Not so lucky was another family not very far away. All of the members
of that family were killed except for an 8-year-old boy who was found
in a tree and survived.
Not far away, several families had signs that said: The Lord was with
us. Surely, it had to seem to them providential that there could be
such devastation almost in their front yards and yet their homes would
be safe.
Ironically, today, as I went from Nashville to Chattanooga, I was
reading about a commemoration of the floods that hit Tennessee almost
exactly 1 year ago--on May 2, 2010. These were floods that affected
counties from Nashville to Memphis. In Nashville alone there was $2
billion worth of damage. People are still recovering from that flood a
year later. Businesses have closed in some cases, but most have opened.
The Grand Ole Opry was shut, but it was opened again. The Opryland
Hotel is open again.
Nashville is thriving again, and people are coming back to Nashville.
But the commemoration today was for the large number of families in
Tennessee who are hurting and some who are still in recovery.
Then, if that weren't enough, in the western part of our State, along
the Mississippi River, we have reports that the water is rising and
will rise to levels that will be higher than at any time since the
flood of 1937. People are already preparing shelters. Tributaries of
the Mississippi are already rising.
On Friday I will be going to Memphis to meet with the Army Corps of
Engineers and local officials to make sure we are doing all we can.
None of us in the Federal Government believe we can make anyone whole
after a disaster like this, but we can help. As I said to those I saw
today in Chattanooga, north of Chattanooga, there is a telephone number
to call--2-1-1--which is a local number for help. There is a FEMA
number to call--1-800-621-FEMA (3362). We found in the flooding of a
year ago from Nashville to Memphis that was a big help to many
Tennesseans. I hope the same will be true in east Tennessee and across
our State today.
A year ago Tennesseans distinguished themselves by not looting and
complaining, but by cleaning up and helping one another. I saw that
again today in Hamilton County. The sheriff told me within a few hours
after the devastation there were 500 or so men with chainsaws out
clearing debris and trees from the roads and from the yards helping one
another.
So, Mr. President, I speak today on behalf of all Members of the
Senate in expressing to those in Tennessee our concern and our
willingness to continue to do all we can to help.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
following these remarks a summary of the actions that we are taking in
the events that are happening in Tennessee, as well as a letter from
the congressional delegation to the President requesting disaster
relief, which he granted promptly, and another to the general who was
president of the Mississippi River Commission urging him to take every
action possible to help the communities along the Mississippi River as
water rises there.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[[Page S2569]]
Congress of the United States,
Washington, DC, April 30, 2011.
The President,
The White House,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: On behalf of the State of Tennessee, we
respectfully request that you declare a federal disaster in
Bradley, Greene, Hamilton, and Washington counties as a
result of the severe storms, flash flooding and tornadoes
that struck the state beginning on April 25, 2011.
Governor Bill Haslam has requested federal disaster
assistance to respond to the devastation caused throughout
Tennessee due to this historic tornado outbreak, and we
expect a separate request will be forthcoming to respond to
the flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
Flooding in many of our communities will only get worse in
the coming days, and the unprecedented river stages are
threatening the entire levee system.
State and local officials are only beginning to be able to
assess the level of damage to infrastructure, private
property and our economy. Many of the communities affected by
these storms and rising flood waters are the same areas
devastated by the May 2010 floods. In addition to all of the
homes and businesses destroyed by the tornadoes, the flooding
along the Mississippi River is forecast to exceed the great
flood of 1937 in some areas, and reach the third highest
level on record in Memphis by May 10.
Federal assistance is critical to help our state and local
governments initiate recovery efforts and to start repairing
infrastructure. Like so many areas throughout the Southeast
ravaged by these storms, our communities are overwhelmed by
the destruction and need federal assistance. Public and
Individual Assistance in Bradley, Greene, Hamilton, and
Washington counties will help communities with debris removal
and make victims eligible for a number of vital disaster
assistance programs. The Tennessee delegation and state and
local officials stand ready to work together with federal
officials to make sure that Tennesseans receive the help they
need to get back on their feet.
Thank you for your expedited consideration of our State's
request, and we will provide you with more information about
our State's needs as information is available.
Sincerely,
Lamar Alexander,
U.S. Senator.
Bob Corker,
U.S. Senator.
Steve Cohen,
Congressman.
Marsha Blackburn,
Congressman.
Jim Cooper,
Congressman.
Chuck Fleischmann,
Congressman.
Stephen L. Fincher,
Congressman.
Diane Black,
Congressman.
Scott DesJarlais,
Congressman.
John J. Duncan, Jr.,
Congressman.
Phil Roe,
Congressman.
____
Congress of the United States,
Washington, DC, April 27, 2011.
Maj. Gen. Michael J. Walsh,
President, Mississippi River Commission, Vicksburg, MS.
Dear Major General Walsh: We urgently request you take
every action possible to protect communities in Tennessee and
throughout the Mississippi River Valley from rising
floodwaters. The State of Tennessee has already declared a
State of Emergency, and if necessary, we implore you to take
preventative action rather than wait until it is too late to
act.
The rising flood waters in the Mississippi River are
historical in context, threatening approximately 110 miles of
Tennessee riverbank. If the Mississippi River overtops or
breaches the levees along Tennessee's river banks, thousands
of people and acres of farmland are at tremendous risk of
flooding.
We understand the Governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, is
seeking a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District
Court to prevent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from
artificially crevassing the levee at Birds Point and using
the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway.
While we understand that you are facing an extremely
difficult decision, we are concerned about the potential
devastation that could be felt by nearly 160,000 Tennesseans.
It is our understanding that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals
in the case of Story v. Marsh, 732 F.2d 1375, 1383 (8th Cir.
1984), regarding the operation of the Birds Point-New Madrid
floodway, stated that the operation of the floodway is within
the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We hope
that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will move forward with
crevassing the levee, if such a decision becomes necessary.
It is our sincere hope that there will not be a need to
artificially crevasse the Birds Point levee, but we urge you
not to delay and to take appropriate actions to protect the
people and property of Tennesseans that live along the
Mississippi River, as well as those throughout the
Mississippi Valley.
Sincerely,
Senator Lamar Alexander.
Senator Bob Corker.
Congressman Stephen L. Fincher.
Mr. ALEXANDER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________