STANFORD, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Governor Gretchen Whitmer volunteered at Meridian Elementary School to help distribute supplies for Michigan families impacted by the historic flooding in the area.
On May 19, failures of the Edenville and Sanford Dams in Midland County forced over 10,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Since then, Whitmer has worked in partnership with local, state and federal officials to help families and business owners recover.
Whitmer has declared a state of emergency in Midland, Saginaw, Arenac, Gladwin, and Iosco counties. On May 21, FEMA approved the governor’s request for a federal emergency declaration to provide additional resources to impacted areas to respond to the extreme flooding.
“This is a community that is still reeling from what we know is an event unlike anything we’ve seen in 500 years,” Whitmer said during a press conference. “After last months’ flooding, we know there are a lot of people that have lost everything. Homes that they’ve lived in and built up over the course of decades, people that have spent their whole life building small businesses in this community who are afraid they won’t be able to overcome the damage, and the flooding that has impacted roads, public parks, schools and more.”
Monday, Whitmer also announced that she intends to apply for a major disaster declaration to get the necessary funding and help from the federal government to repair the damage.
“This is something that is a very intensive process, where all the information has to be collected in support of that request,” Whitmer said. “We want it to be granted, so we have got to get it right, and we are moving quickly. I know that a critical amount of work goes into this, and so all of the work you’re doing on a local level, and that we’re doing at the state level will contribute to us getting the kind of federal support that we need.”
Whitmer has also directed the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to investigate what caused the dams to fail, and asked EGLE to review the larger issue of dam safety in Michigan and provide recommendations on policy, legislative, budgetary, and enforcement reforms that can prevent these harms from repeating elsewhere.
“We know this is a tough moment, but we’re going to get through this and we’re going to get through it together,” Whitmer said. “We won’t recover overnight, it is going to take a sustained long-term effort, but little by little, we’re going to help the Midland area residents and businesses get back on their feet.”
