Tennessee receives disaster declaration

13 counties to get relief after flooding from Hurricane Ivan    Governor Phil Bredesen has received notification that President Bush approved disaster relief for 13 counties in East and Middle Tennessee. Bredesen officially requested the declaration, after reviewing assessments of flood damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan. There are two types of relief that the governor requested: for damage to public property and for damage to individual property. Bredesen made the request on September 28. The declaration will help fund repairs to damaged public property in the following counties: Campbell, Carter, Clay, Cocke, Cumberland, Grundy, Hamilton, Jackson, Johnson, Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Roane.  ”Many Tennessee families were affected by Hurricane Ivan’s broad reach and I’m glad that we will be able to provide some measure of relief for them,” Bredesen said.   The Governor’s original request also asked for federal help for individuals in Bradley, Rhea and Cocke counties; but that portion of the declaration request was rejected. Originally there were 14 counties on the individual assistance list; Cocke County was one that was rejected for the individual assistance portion of the declaration according to Kurt Pickering of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).  “We will continue to pursue other forms of federal assistance for individuals, primarily from the U.S. Small Business Administration,” said Bredesen.  Preliminary damage assessments indicated nearly $7 million in damage to public property from the flooding.