Five homes destroyed during Thursday’s tornado
For the third time in three years, it appears Morgan County will not receive financial help from the federal government to help with damage caused by a tornado.
The Morgan County Emergency Management Agency and the Tennessee Emergency management Agency recently completed a storm assessment and reported five home were destroyed following Thursday’s EF-2 tornado that ripped through the Deer Lodge community and other areas of Morgan County. Twelve homes were said to have major damage, 19 were listed with minor damage while three others were said to be affected.
Morgan County EMA Director Ethan Webb said despite the damage in Morgan County and other areas that received damage such as Grainger County, where an EF-1 tornado touched down, total damage across the state appears to be less than the $13,061,487.62
needed to receive federal assistance.
Those numbers aren’t final yet, as damage incurred by utility companies like Plateau Electric and Highland Communications have yet to be added.
Tornadoes in the Sunbright area in April 2023 and 2024 also fell short of the damage amount need for receive federal disaster relief funding.
Webb says the next step for his office to coordinate with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Morgan County Highway Department, and Morgan County Solid Waste Department to put together a debris management plan.
Morgan County Executive Brian Langley added that although the area doesn’t qualify for federal funding, he will do everything he can to get funding from the state.
“Lots of homes have been destroyed and people have died. You cannot put a dollar amount on that,” Langley said. “It’s frustrating and ridiculous.
“ We’re also going to have a community meeting in a week or so to see what is needed. I’m going to ask County Commission to ask the state for significant financial help and we’re going to follow up with our federal and state legislators because we need help.”
