Several Mid-Michigan counties declared a major disaster area

LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder today announced President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster area for four counties in mid-Michigan due to severe storms on June 22-23 that resulted in severe flood damage. The affected counties include: Bay, Gladwin, Isabella and Midland, as well as the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe within Isabella County.

“The losses sustained by these communities have been severe due to the magnitude of the flash flooding,” Snyder said. “This presidential declaration is an important step in our continuing efforts to provide assistance and help Michigan families and businesses recover from the effects of this disaster.”

With this declaration, communities statewide are now also eligible to participate in the hazard mitigation assistance program that can help reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards. Mitigation measures reduce personal loss, save lives and lessen the cost of responding to and recovering from future disasters.

“I strongly encourage communities to seize the opportunity for hazard mitigation assistance to enhance the safety of Michigan’s residents,” said Capt. Chris A. Kelenske, commander of the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD). “With federal aid, our communities can initiate projects to save lives and protect public property and health.”

In addition to the presidential declaration for individual assistance and hazard mitigation assistance, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has made low-interest disaster loans available to residents and businesses in Bay, Gladwin, Isabella and Midland counties. Additional information about the SBA disaster assistance program is available at www.sba.gov.

The presidential declaration does not include assistance for costs incurred by state and local governments due to damage to public facilities and infrastructures because those costs did not meet the federal threshold for assistance. However, Gov. Snyder has opened the state’s Disaster and Emergency Contingency Fund, which allows eligible local governments affected by the flooding to apply for assistance grants for up to $100,000 or 10 percent of the previous year’s operating budget, whichever is less.

Presidential Disaster Declaration Timeline

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley declared a “state of disaster” for Isabella and Midland counties on June 23. On June 28, Gov. Rick Snyder instructed the Michigan State Police to amend the “state of disaster” declaration to include Bay and Gladwin counties.

By declaring a “state of disaster,” the State of Michigan made available all state resources in cooperation with local response and recovery efforts in the disaster area, as outlined in the Michigan Emergency Management Plan.

Based on information provided by the MSP/EMHSD, state leaders requested a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) with federal and local leaders to review and validate the most severely damaged homes, businesses and public facilities across mid-Michigan.

The teams conducted their assessments from July 6 to July 9. State officials assessed the results and determined the extent of damage reached the level for receiving federal assistance.

On July 21, Governor Snyder requested that President Trump declare a major disaster as a result of the flooding damage in Bay, Isabella, Gladwin and Midland counties.