The 2020 Nashville Tornado, COVID’s Impact on Property Claims and the Chaos It Created (Part 1)

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was creating increased fear and uncertainty throughout the world, Tennessee experienced a tornado outbreak lasting 10 hours, and 38 minutes. Seven tornados with the maximum rating of EF4, confirmed by the National Weather Service, struck the west and middle parts of the state on March 3, 2020. (https://www.weather.gov/ohx/20200303). This deadly weather event killed 19 people, injured 87 others, and was responsible for approximately $1.5 billion in property losses across Tennessee. The State of Tennessee and other covered entities incurred damages originally estimated at $205 million, with many of the losses in Nashville-Davidson County. The three major areas of property loss were the campus of Tennessee State University, the old Tennessee State Prison managed by the Department of Corrections, and various buildings damaged throughout the state under the management of the Department of General Services.

As COVID-19 began shuttering schools and businesses, the State’s initial response was no different from previous disasters. Our response team included the Tennessee Department of Treasury, the professional broker, and adjusting teams. The team-coordinated site assessments and in-person meetings, and deployed drone technology to record the devastation of each site destroyed by tornados.

With a clearer understanding of the magnitude and widespread destruction of State facilities, Treasury procured an emergency contract with a specialty disaster recovery service to assist with the response and recovery efforts. The services included FEMA project management, reviewing of overall loss estimates, developing a work plan for claims, prioritizing projects and deadlines, developing a communication and financial plan, scheduling weekly updates with all project teams, and preparing scope of work and damage assessments. These services have become permanent solutions in our response to natural disasters and recovery for the State.

On April 2, 2020, one month after the tornado outbreak, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued Executive Order No. 23 requiring Tennesseans to stay at home except for essential activities. With this order, our team was forced to adjust our disaster recovery response to meet the new provisions. Instead of a group of adjusters, facility managers, engineers, and essential staff meeting at damaged locations, COVID-19 restrictions meant only two to three individuals could survey the damage and report back to the larger response team through virtual platforms. Claims for major areas of damage were adjusted via Teams and Zoom meetings.

Ten years prior to the pandemic, Nashville suffered a devasting flood that kept state employees out of their offices for more than a week. Following the flood, Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. led the development and implementation of a disaster recovery plan for the Tennessee Department of Treasury. The disaster recovery plan included instituting a telework policy, allowing some employees to work remotely a couple of days each week, and equipping most divisions with laptops and equipment needed to work remotely at a moment’s notice. As a result, when the coronavirus crisis struck, Treasury seamlessly transitioned to full-time remote work with no lapse in the services we offered the public. Tennessee maintained execution of timelines and strategies by the recovery response team, TEMA, and FEMA.

The consistency during the COVID-19 crisis was crucial to the success of the State’s response and recovery efforts. The State of Tennessee’s property adjusting company noted Tennessee’s success in meeting the demands of the pandemic compared to other organizations with major losses in the Nashville area. Not being equipped to meet virtually, like the State of Tennessee, caused other organizations working with the adjusting company to experience delays and constraints in moving claims forward during this timeframe.