It has been nearly two months since Hurricane Helene made landfall in the U.S., devastating southern states like the Carolinas and Tennessee.
Tennessee Ag Commissioner Charlie Hatcher gives us an update on what farmers are still dealing with.
According to Commissioner Hatcher, “It’s been tragic for us. We’ve got eight counties that were declared a federal disaster by the government, and in those counties, we have complete devastation in a lot of areas. We had 7-10 inches of rain, North Carolina had 20 or more, and then all that water came through. We washed away farms, bridges, roads, livestock, people. It’s almost apocalyptic when you look at some of it. We’re still reeling from it, we’re still assessing the damage, and we don’t know all the damage yet.”
He says that assessments are still underway and there are some areas that they have still been unable to reach.
“We have some counties that desperately need supplies, and we can’t get them there yet, so that’s the situation we’re in,” he adds. “Our state Emergency Management Agency has been activated for a long time now, and we’re working with all the departments— the state departments in Tennessee are working collectively through the local emergency management agencies up through our state emergency management agency to assess the damage, get the request coming up for resources, and get them distributed out. But, it is a logistic challenge and a tough thing to do.”
Hatches is one of many state ag commissioners who signed a letter urging Congress to establish a comprehensive disaster program for farmers and foresters.
