Despite hundreds of millions of dollars of damage, dozens of deaths and tens of thousands of people being forced from their homes the floods in Tennessee have garnered little attention in the national media.
“Media exposure is crucial to victims of disasters because the more people know about the challenges they are facing the more help the victims are likely to receive,” says Jeff Nene, senior director — communication and technology at Convoy of Hope.
In Bellevue, which is a suburb of Nashville, Convoy of Hope has set up its base of operations. Many residents in Bellevue are clearing their homes of mud and debris.
“The streets are edged with piles of debris creating an image of a tunnel of trash,” says Nick Wiersma, Convoy of Hope’s on the ground director for the response operation.
Due to several factors presented by the flooding, Convoy of Hope teams are utilizing the organization’s mobile distribution model — which means teams go door-to-door delivering supplies — in Bellevue and its other staging points.
“For the circumstances the teams are facing the mobile distribution model makes the most sense,” says Nene.
Five Convoy of Hope semi-truck loads were deployed from the Convoy of Hope World Distribution Center and have fueled the four staging points in Bellevue, Madison, Nashville and Goodlettsville.
