Gov. Whitmer Serves as Flood-Relief Volunteer in Sanford

source: Executive Office of the Governor

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer volunteered at Meridian Elementary School Monday to help distribute supplies for Michigan families impacted by the historic and devastating flooding in the area. The governor 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.

The governor 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. The governor has also directed the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy 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.