Tennessee remained at a Level II-State of Emergency as of press time due to severe winter storms.
While the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency activated the Tennessee Emergency Management Plan and declared a State of Emergency in Tennessee last Monday. Many DeKalb Countians were without power, and several minor accidents occurred on the roadways, no fatalities were reported in the county.
While freezing rain and sleet in DeKalb County caused power outages, they were quickly corrected by Caney Fork and Smithville electric. Trees overloaded with ice were downed across the county, many of which fell on utility lines.
The Smithville-DeKalb Rescue Squad, DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, EMS, DeKalb County Highway Department, TDOT,the sheriff’s department, city police, and private citizens all joined the effort to correct the problems.
Schools in the county were dismissed for more than a week.
Areas east of DeKalb were hit much harder, and fog on the Cumberland Plateau was an impediment to many response efforts, preventing Civil Air Patrol and Tennessee Highway Patrol reconnaissance flights over the area. The Tennessee National Guard deployed 20 people to the plateau to help clean up debris, and six Humvee teams conducted wellness checks and assist local and state officials in the response in Putnam County.
As of Monday, Tennessee had 22 confirmed weather-related fatalities. In Benton County a 64-year-old woman died in a motor vehicle accident. In Hamilton County a 63-year-old man suffered a hypothermia related death.
In Haywood County a 40-year-old female died in a motor vehicle accident. Henry County experienced two fatalities, with a 64-year-old woman and a 69-yearold man’s hypothermia related deaths. A 67 year-old Hickman County man died when he could not get dialysis treatment.
Knox County suffered four fatalities: a 30-year-old male in motor vehicle accident, a 75-year-old male in a fire, a 68-year-old female in a fire, and a 47-year-old male in a fire. A 73 year-old man died of hypothermia in Moore County.
A 38-year-old female died in an Overton County motor vehicle accident. A 44-year-old Roane County man died of hypothermia, and an 85-year-old Sequatchie County man also died of hypothermia.
Two people in Sevier County died of weather related causes, and Three Shelby County people died of hypothermia. One male resident of Sumner County died from weather-related causes,
A 34-year-old-woman and a 10-year-old boy died in Williamson County vehicle accidents.
Nearly 50,000 people in the state were without power at some point during the storms.
State Agencies working the storm response include: Commerce & Insurance, Environment & Conservation, Correction, Finance & Administration, General Services, Health, Human Services, National Guard, Tennessee Commissioner on Aging, Tennessee Division of Forestry, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee State Parks, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Volunteer Tennessee. Response support is also being provided from the American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, FEMA, National Weather Service, Salvation Army, Tennessee Valley Authority and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster.
