PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied the request of Governor Gretchen Whitmer for a major disaster declaration for the May 7 tornadoes that hit Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph counties.
Portage City Manager Pat McGinnis says FEMA needs to reconsider.
FEMA says in a letter that the damage from the storm “was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies.”
State Senator Sean McCann has asked Whitmer to appeal, which she can do within 30 days.
One May 7 tornado that hit Kalamazoo County was an EF-2 which had top winds of 135-miles-an-hour and destroyed at least 60 buildings and did major damage to 129 others.
In all, four tornadoes hit the area.
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