Three things for August 30
1. Bradley County unemployment rate drops to 4.3%
In August, the unemployment rate in Bradley County dropped to 4.3%, with 2,236 people remaining unemployed.
This change places Bradley County at a lower unemployment rate than Tennessee at large, which sits at 4.5% with 151,353 people unemployed.
In April 2020, Bradley county experienced a record high unemployment rate of 13.6%, due to COVID-19 related job loss.
Doug Berry, the vice president of economic development for the Cleveland and Bradley Chamber of Commerce, hopes Bradley County will not see another COVID-19 related loss of employment.
“I don’t think we will see a big spike in unemployment given the fact that we are still trying our best to live a near-normal existence and the schools are back in session, more or less,” said Berry. “Companies are not going to shut down and those that become sick and miss work in most cases will not be laid off since we have such a tight labor market.”
2. East Tennessee soldier killed in Kabul airport bombing
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, was one of 13 U.S. troops killed in the Kabul, Afghanistan airport bombing last week.
On Thursday, the Kabul airport came under attack by a suicide bomber and a gunman while U.S. forces and allies continued to evacuate people from Afghanistan.
A suicide bomb detonated at the Abbey Gate and was followed by an assault from a gunman. Another bomb was detonated at a hotel near the airport.
The attack killed 11 marines and a sailor alongside Knauss on Thursday. Additionally, the attack wounded 18 other military personnel and killed approximately 160 Afghan civilians.
Thursday was the deadliest day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2011.
3. Ida makes landfall in Louisiana as category 4 hurricane
On Sunday, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a category 4 hurricane and continues to move across the coast as a tropical storm, bringing the threat of catastrophic flooding as far as Tennessee.
Louisiana has confirmed one storm-related death so far after Ascension Parish sheriff deputies responded to a report of a fallen tree in Prairieville.
According to AP News, the power outages in New Orleans heightened the city's vulnerability to flooding and left hundreds of thousands of people without air conditioning and refrigeration in the sweltering summer heat.
Bradley County residents could experience intense storms with the possibility of spin-up tornadoes and flash flooding Monday evening and Tuesday due to the eye of Ida passing over Chattanooga.
For the latest weather updates, click here.
