A major winter storm traveled across Tennessee resulting in freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Snow and Ice accumulations were greatest in West and Middle Tennessee. Temperatures are forecast to be in the teens overnight in Middle Tennessee. The storm system that continues today resulted in hazardous travel conditions, power outages, and tree damage due to significant ice accumulations. There have been three confirmed fatalities because of this storm.
"Your American Red Cross of Tennessee Region is proud to help those in need and to provide safe shelter and food where power has been out for days," said Joel Sullivan, regional executive for the Red Cross Tennessee Region. "We know how incredibly hard it is when power is lost and you are worried about how to feed your family. We encourage folks to come to our shelters and get a warm meal and a warm dry place to sleep as temperatures are expected to drop again tonight."
Sheltering
- Congregate shelters are open in Bedford, Coffee, Moore, Putnam, Overton, and Jackson counties. (Locations listed below.)
- Red Cross is working with government and community partners to assist in supporting the shelters.
Feeding
- All shelters have feeding support for clients.
- Red Cross is working with a combination of feeding vendors and local partners
Disaster Health Services
- Health services are being provided virtually to all shelters and to callers seeking assistance for health needs.
Government Operations
- Coordinated with Emergency Management Agencies with opening the shelters and assessing the needs of the community.
- Coordinated with Tennessee National Guard to get shelter needs transported.
- Red Cross has staff at the state emergency operations center.
- Virtually supported counties in middle and east Tennessee.
Shelter Locations:
Coffee
Ada Wright , 328 North Woodland Street, Manchester, Tennessee
Jackson
Center Grove Community Center, 113 7 Knobs Road, Gainesboro, Tennessee
Moore
Moore County High School, 1502 Lynchburg Highway, Lynchburg, Tennessee
Bedford
Fair Haven Baptist Church, 2726 US-231, Shelbyville, Tennessee
Overton
Livingston First Christian, 320 Oakley Street , Livingston, Tennessee
Putnam
First Baptist Church, 18 S Walnut Avenue, Cookeville, Tennessee
How to help:
Financially
Please donate to RedCross.org/donate or you can call 1-800-Red Cross, or you can text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Volunteer
Click on RedCross.org/Volunteer to find out how you can help in your community.
Emergency App
Be sure to go to your app store on your smart phone and download the Red Cross Emergency App. It has information about how to prepare, and what to do if an emergency happens. It also will let you know when there is a natural disaster that could happen in your area. That includes floods, tornadoes, and winter storms.