Mayor's Winter Storm Commission releases interim report

Today, Mayor Freddie O'Connell's Winter Storm Response Commission released its interim report that identifies the strengths and opportunities of the city's response to the unprecedented ice storm.

The interim report is primarily based on the 12 public hearings held by the commission, a master event timeline, and a document repository containing hundreds of records relating to emergency planning, preparation, and response conducted by Nashville Electric Service (NES) and Metro departments. Commission staff have also completed nearly 60 interviews with first and second response agencies, community partners, subject matter experts, and residents. The final report will expand upon the interim report's findings and will feature recommendations; it must be completed no later than February 23, 2027.

The mayor asked for the interim report within six months, so the city could begin implementing necessary reforms.

"Our goal in creating this commission was to get an honest assessment of our whole of government and key partner performance to ensure that we will be even better positioned to serve Nashvillians when the next disaster strikes," said Mayor O'Connell. "Our office looks forward to the commission's full report, and I'm ready to get to work addressing their interim findings."

The initial report chronicles several improvements Metro can make to be better prepared for future severe weather.

The report includes one recommendation with more possible as the committee works towards its final report. The Commission suggests that Metro perform an independent, professional assessment of the Office of Emergency Management's structure, organization, staffing, and resourcing to ensure that our emergency response process is well-positioned to continue to modernize, operationalize, and adapt to address our changing environment and growing city.

In addition to the previous recommendation, the report includes the following findings:

• There is a need for better intergovernmental collaboration and communication from Nashville Electric Service leading up to and in the immediate aftermath of events, so Nashvillians can better understand estimated time of power restoration.
• There is a need for better coordination with our nongovernment partners, especially Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) members and community and neighborhood organizations.
• More ways to reach our vulnerable and non-English speaking communities are necessary.

The report notes a number of strengths that Metro should ensure it's able to keep in place and build upon, namely the adaptability of front-line staff and longstanding, institutional knowledge of key departments like the Office of Emergency Management, Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT), and Metro Water Services (MWS).

The report's executive summary reads, "The overall storm response picture that has emerged is one of strong tactical responses to the ice storm emergency. But, questions about whether Nashville Electric Service (NES) and the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro Nashville) emergency management structures-including planning, staffing, training, coordination structures, information management, unified communications and organizational capacity-are strategically adequate to support modern Nashville during large-scale and prolonged disasters in the years ahead emerged."

The commission will now continue interviews with key agencies, research how other cities resource and organize their emergency management agencies, as well as how other cities establish relationships with semi-autonomous city agencies like NES.