Nashville ice storm relief fund tops $1M as mayor urges more donations
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell is pushing for more donations to the charitable fund set up to help victims of last week's ice storm.
- The fund surpassed $1 million in donations just five days after it was launched in partnership with the United Way and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
Why it matters: The fund is meant to help with food, supplies, debris removal and other immediate needs.
Top city officials provided updates Tuesday about the next wave of the city's ice storm response.
O'Connell emphasized at his daily press briefing that residents affected by the storm should explain their needs by calling 211 or visiting www.nashvilleresponds.org to fill out a needs tracker.
- Information received on the needs tracker will inform the long-term recovery.
Meanwhile: The Nashville Electric Service continued its power restoration work. As of Tuesday afternoon, over 15,000 customers remained without power.
- House Speaker Cameron Sexton told reporters earlier this week that major changes are needed for NES. O'Connell said in response he favors solutions that maintain local control of the power utility.
🚛 Countywide debris removal begins
The Nashville Department of Transportation began collecting storm vegetation debris on Tuesday.
- An NDOT spokesperson said crews will conduct countywide sweeps to pick up downed trees, limbs and other vegetation. The debris must be left at the curb, and residents do not need to call for special pickups. Non-vegetation debris won't be collected at this time.
- The city is also beginning to repair potholes, which the department expects to be a problem following the storm. You can report a pothole by calling 311 or visiting www.hub.nashville.gov.
🗑️ Trash collection resumes
The ice storm hit Nashville just before the city changed its trash and recycling collection schedule.
- The altered schedule began this week and residents can search for their new collection day online.
- Metro Waste Services is also running emergency trash collection sites at 21 locations across the city.
- The city's four convenience centers are accepting trash and recycling free of charge.
💧 Metro Water making repairs
Water Department director Scott Potter said the city's water quality remains good.
- Potter said crews have already fixed 98 water main breaks and were investigating more Tuesday. Those repairs can lead to temporary interruptions, but there aren't widespread outages.
- He said in cases where water appears cloudy coming out of the faucet, it is probably from air mixing with the water. Potter suggested filling a glass and waiting to see if the cloudiness goes away.
- If it doesn't, residents can call Metro Water to look into the issue.
The city created a storm resources page with updates and recovery efforts.