For Immediate Release

April 7, 2023

Federal Emergency Declaration Granted in Rutherford and Cannon Counties

Rutherford County, TN- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted disaster relief for severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that decimated parts of Rutherford and Cannon counties April 1.

Rutherford and Cannon counties, along with eight other counties, were officially declared a disaster by FEMA-4710-DR in the categories of Public Assistance and Individual Assistance. A FEMA Disaster Declaration allows impacted citizens to apply for access to available funds.

FEMA's Public Assistance Program provides supplemental grants to local governments and certain types of private non-profits so communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies. The Public Assistance Program helps communities recover costs for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures and restoration of public infrastructure.

More information may be found here: https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/fema-public-assistance.

FEMA provides Individual Assistance to eligible individuals and households who were impacted due to a disaster that receives a federal disaster declaration. More information regarding the Individual Assistance program can be found here: https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual.

Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr and Cannon County Mayor Greg Mitchell thanked the group of Mennonite volunteers, other organizations and groups that have contributed tremendously with work crews and heavy equipment that accelerated the debris removal process.

“We appreciate how the community has shown the true spirit of ‘love thy neighbor,’” Carr said.

Cannon County Emergency Agency Director Roy Sullivan said, “Cannon County is appreciative of the assistance and mutual aid agreements with Rutherford County.”

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