The Metro Nashville Council will vote next week on whether to accept $10.8 million in federal disaster recovery funds meant to help residents still rebuilding from the tornado that tore through the city more than six years ago. The money is aimed at neighborhoods that took the brunt of the storm, and it comes as the city continues to wrestle with the long tail of a disaster that left extensive destruction in its wake.
According to WKRN News 2, the council is set to vote on the $10.8 million package next week, with the funds intended to help Nashville residents rebuild after the 2020 tornado outbreak devastated parts of the city. The precise figure under consideration is $10,827,467, and it flows from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program, passed through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, per state records cited by TN.gov.
A Storm That Left Lasting Scars
The March 3, 2020 EF-3 tornado caused more than $1 billion in damage across Middle Tennessee, making it the eighth-costliest tornado in U.S. history, and it killed five people in Davidson County among 25 deaths statewide, according to the National Weather Service. The twister tracked roughly 60 miles through Metro Nashville, cutting through North Nashville, Germantown, East Nashville, Donelson, and Hermitage, and also striking John C. Tune Airport and the Tennessee State University campus, per Nashville.gov records. Initial inspections by the Metro Nashville Codes Department found 771 homes and businesses destroyed and another 1,194 properties damaged across Davidson County, according to city figures.
Where the Money Goes and Who Runs It
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development administers Tennessee's CDBG-DR program, while Metro's Housing Division handles the March 2020 tornado allocation. Federal rules attached to the program require that at least 70% of the funds directly benefit low- and moderate-income households earning 80% or less of the area median income, according to guidance from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which documents the federal statute governing disaster recovery block grants nationwide.
HUD guidelines also require that CDBG-DR funds concentrate in what the agency labels Most Impacted and Distressed areas, and Tennessee designated Davidson, Putnam, Hamilton, and Humphreys counties to receive at least 80% of the state's 2020 disaster funds, per TN.gov. That targeting matters amid concerns about displacement and socioeconomic vulnerability in the wake of the storm.
Not the City's First Federal Lifeline
This isn't the first time Metro Nashville has turned to CDBG-DR funding to patch storm damage. The tornado allocation follows a separate $8.518 million CDBG-DR allocation that HUD made to Davidson County under disaster declaration 4601-DR-TN, according to the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. MDHA administers that allocation on behalf of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Although the vote on the tornado money comes years after the disaster itself, CDBG-DR grants are structured to support long-term disaster recovery, including housing restoration and community resilience work.
The vote also lands amid a broader statewide push to shore up disaster funding. In February, the Tennessee General Assembly moved to advance a $100 million state disaster fund to help local governments cover mounting storm recovery and infrastructure costs, as Hoodline previously reported. Nashville's council is expected to take up the $10.8 million tornado package next week.
