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This was the administrator’s third visit
to Tennessee. He visited some of the
towns he toured early in May
when the water was still high.
He wanted to survey the ongoing
recovery efforts and hear directly
from state and local officials,
volunteer organizations, and survivors
as they rebuild homes and communities.
Millington was Craig’s first stop.
Thing I knew I had to get turned on fast
was Individual Assistance.
He met with local officials to hear
how the recovery process was going
and then was able to meet with the media
and answer some of their questions.
Our role at FEMA is again a support role.
We are still in that support role.
This is by no means over.
The administrator then traveled to Dyersburg.
When he was here earlier
he had to travel by helicopter
because the roads were covered with water.
We still had a lot of water
some of the downtown areas were
still flooded water in many cases was
still rising people couldn’t even get to
their homes there was still water
flowing through their house
as so now the flooding is over
and you’re really getting the recovery
and this is really my opportunity to
come back and touch base with
some of the local officials.
But really the assistance we’ve
gotten from FEMA the care the concern
the quick response I know sometimes
you don’t hear that.
Then it was on to Nashville
where he met with the TEMA director,
senior staff and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean.
We're ready to move forward
we're prepared to send out the
buy-out letters today.
They're going to work of course with PA.
Later at the Joint Field Office,
an all hands meeting was held
where the administrator thanked the
entire staff for their hard work
and urged them to be ready for
the next disaster.
We’ve got long-term recovery,
we’re laying those foundations
but we’re not done.
People say are we done yet?
Cause its not making a lot of news
were not done.
Craig’s final stop was the
Second Harvest food bank.
He met with faith-based groups
discussing how the coordination between
government and volunteer agencies
can better work together to
provide assistance to survivors.
I give as much weight to the faith-based
and volunteer community as part of this team
as I do any other aspect of it
because I’ve seen the work
that can be done.
As the administrator stated FEMA
will continue to provide support
even as the clean-up efforts wind down.
For the last sixty days,
Tennesseans have been sprinting
but the reality is we're not done.