Tennessee faces future following flood
Tennessee’s Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) has declared that tens of billions of dollars are needed in investment to the state’s public infrastructure in order to prepare for the demands of the future, even as vast sections of the state continue to feel the effects of the devastating floods that hit Tennessee early in 2010.
Although a direct link is not made in the report between the massive $37.3 billion needed for public infrastructure investment and the floods that wreaked havoc across over 30% of the state, it does bare mentioning that the vast funding needs outlined in the report illustrate only the second time in history that all key categories of infrastructure have seen an increased demand for spending.
The public infrastructure needs have six general categories: transport and utilities; education; health, safety and welfare; recreation and culture; economic development and general government. Across the board there has been an increase in funding demands, between 2009 and 2010 then, the infrastructure needs of the state have increased $3.1 billion and over $23 billion since 1999.
Transport and utilities is the single largest funding demand at $18.9 billion, but utilities make up just $600 million of that category with transport demands (which encompasses roads, bridges etc) amounting to $18.3 billion or 49% of the total outlay recommended in the report.
The $37.3 billion outlined by the TACIR report is not a total spending amount, however, it is simply the minimum that is needed between 2010 and 2013. In other words, the report is calling for the state government to have at least $37.3 billion worth of infrastructure improvement projects in at least their first stages by 2013, in order to meet the growing needs of the state.
The link between the damage caused by the flooding and the huge infrastructure investment needs is tenuous because it is not stated directly. However, at the time of the May Floods, Tennessee news media reported that damage was estimated by government to be around $1.5 billion in Nashville alone. That does not include the 30 counties that were also declared Federal Disaster Areas, or the additional 52 counties that applied to receive the designation.
The damage to the state was therefore severe and it is likely that the public infrastructure needs of Tennessee have been directly affected by the floods and this would explain the vast majority of the funding needs designated for transportation as the initial damage assessments for Nashville did not include damage to roads and bridges.
Furthermore, the declaration of certain counties as federal disaster zones entitled them to federal funds, but mainly for short-term expenditures related to managing the disaster, such as the provision of temporary housing and shelter to effected communities, the removal of debris and, for individuals, essential home repairs for damage caused by the storm.
The damage to the city of Nashville on its own was extensive. The flooding damaged hotels, shopping malls and landmarks such as the Bridgestone Arena while countless homes and businesses were affected as well. Tennessee news media reported in September that the Wyndham Hotel had reopened after a forced closure that saw $10 million worth of repairs carried out.
Then there was the emotional toll that the storm wrought across the state. Even Nashville, the state capital has found it hard to rise robustly from the debris left after the flood water receded. Parts of many communities remain crippled by the disaster, parts of Bellevue, for example, are shadows of their former vibrancy.
Houses that used to be homes stand damaged and vacant and people continue to live in temporary shelters.
“You do run across a lot of people who feel like they have been forgotten and it’s not over by any means for them. A lot of these people aren’t back in their homes,” Janet Bushbaum of the Tennessee Recovery Project told Tennessee news provider, WSMV.
The May Floods were, therefore, a huge setback for Tennessee, which has made such great progress in terms of development, and must now start again in so many areas of the state geographically and figuratively, in terms of the six broad categories outlined by the TACIR that need further development.
For example, the report stated that 91% of public schools are now rated ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ in terms of the quality of education being provided, a further $1.6 billion is needed to put the remaining 9% of schools in the same condition. This is an example of the great progress made in the state’s public education, but if communities undercut by the floods do not recover within a few years and socio-economic problems take root, these will affect the schools and undo the progress made.
Recovery from the floods is therefore ongoing and necessarily implicit in the public infrastructure report, even if not directly stated.
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Tennessee faces future following flood
Tennessee suffered in May 2010 when floods displaced thousands of people and killed several dozen, creating heartache and anxiety across the state and destroying infrastructure and communities. Now, as the state begins to recover, the events of May will play an important part in how the state prepares for the future.
Tennessee’s Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) has declared that tens of billions of dollars are needed in investment to the state’s public infrastructure in order to prepare for the demands of the future, even as vast sections of the state continue to feel the effects of the devastating floods that hit Tennessee early in 2010. Read more
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