Disaster Legal Services in Tennessee

Flood/Storms of May 2010

May 2010 Floods

The May 2010 Tennessee floods occured in Middle and West Tennessee, South Central and Western Kentucky and northern Mississippi as the result of torrential rains on May 1 and 2, 2010.

Floods from these rains affected the area for several days afterwards, resulting in a number of deaths and widespread property damage

May 2010 Floods

Rain totals in some areas were greater than 14-22 inches. The Cumberland River crested at 51.86 feet in Nashville. All-time record crests were observed on the Cumberland River at Clarksville the Duck River at Centerville and Hurricane Mills, the Buffalo River at Lobelville, the Harpeth River at Kingston Springs and Bellevue, and the Red River at Port Royal.

May 2010 Floods

Flood waters reached places in Tennessee that have never been flooded since there has been recorded history in the area.

Many do not have flood insurance to cover damage cover by ground water.

Disaster – Phase I - Response

Immediately following a disaster - Survivors need to: Be safe and out of danger Attend to immediate medical/physical/emotional

needs Find temporary shelter Ascertain safety of family, friends, pets Determine losses (home, auto, job, etc.)

Can take anywhere from 1 day to several weeks

Disaster – Phase II – Short Term Recovery

Goals for Helping Survivors: Protect their shelter & housing rights Reestablish lost income & protect employment

rights Gain access to federal and state disaster

assistance Maximize any private insurance available.

Can begin within a week after disaster, can go on for up to a month.

Need for Legal Services

Disaster – Phase III – Long Term Recovery/Rebuild

Help Survivors with Housing: Homeowners: buy out? rebuild? Future floods? What are

building standards? Foreclosure? Renters – liveability? landlord response? Future floods?

Protect Against Fraud Maximize Insurance/Federal Benefits Assist with document replacement/POA/

wills Manage Ongoing Legal Needs

Disaster Response Infrastructure - Government

Local & County Emergency Management Agencies (EMAs)

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) regional offices – East, West, Middle

TEMA Federal Emergency Management

Agency

DLS Partners

Disaster Response Infrastructure – Legal Services ABA/YLD & FEMA – Memorandum of Understanding Tennessee Bar Association – State co-coordinator

Recruitment of volunteer attorneys Publicity/marketing Training of attorneys State VOAD/DLS

TALS – State co-coordinator – State co-coordinator Disaster Legal Services (DLS) Hotline coordinator Publicity/marketing Training and support of legal service providers Coordination of pro bono programs Reporting to FEMA & ABA/YLD State VOAD/DLS

Legal cont’d Legal Aid Providers

Placement of cases with local pro bono attorneys Clinics & Neighborhood Meetings Limited Case Handling

Local Bars Assist with pro bono recruitment placement of fee-generating cases Local VOAD/DLS

Other Agencies Tennessee Association for Justice Tennessee Justice Center Disability Law & Advocacy Center

Tennessee Structure

Disaster Occurs – FEMA/TEMA involved

TALS TBA

Pro Bono VolunteersLocal Legal Aid Programs

Flow of Information During a Disaster

Disaster Response – Local Programs

FEMA/TEMA efforts: VOAD – Volunteer Organizations Assisting in a

Disaster Disaster Application & Disaster Recovery Centers

(DACs & DRCs) – only activated in a disaster Local Non-profits:

Red Cross United Way Other disaster agencies

Long-Term Recovery Committees

TALS Disaster Response

Appropriate legal services include: Volunteer attorney staffing at local Disaster

Application or Recovery Centers, if applicable; Hotline telephone assistance and referrals; Voluntary lawyer services for individual cases; Referrals to bar association lawyer referral

services; and Any legal services you normally provide as a

legal service agency.

Common Legal Issues Securing government benefits available to disaster

victims – FEMA; Small Business Administration Assisting with filing life, medical and property

insurance claims Dealing with home repair contracts and contractors Replacing missing or destroyed wills and other legal

documents Dealing with consumer protection matters, remedies

and procedures Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems Counseling on landlord/tenant problems

Major Sources of Monetary Help for Flood Victims

Insurance FEMA Small Business Administration Loans Charitable Volunteer “Gap” Funding – Metro Program: “We

Are Home” Program

Disaster Legal Services

Tennessee DLS Hotline: 1-888-395-9297 (M-F, 9-5 CDT)

Facebook Group Page: Disaster Legal Services in Tennessee

Contact: Erik Cole (615) 627-0956 ext. 23 ecole@tals.org www.tals.org

Useful Links

Metro Flood Site http://www.nashvillerecovery.com/index.asp

TBA Flood Site http://www.tba.org/volunteer/

TALS www.tals.org

TN Disaster Legal Assistance Manual http://www.tba.org/YLD/disaster_manual.pdf

DLAC Flood Guidehttp://www.tba.org/volunteer/floodguide_051010.pdf

Useful Links

FEMA www.fema.gov

TEMA www.tnema.org

Local Firm FAQs & Blogs http://nashvillefloodhelp.blogspot.com/ http://www.babc.com/flood-relief-update-05-05-2010/ http://walleraid.squarespace.com/

TALS Disaster Response Working Group (listserv) tals_disaster@lists.tals.org