Gov. Whitmer Submits Request to FEMA for Expedited Damage Assessment in Wayne County

LANSING, Mich. – Governor Gretchen Whitmer has requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conduct a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) with state and local officials to review damages and response costs caused by heavy rainfall and flooding in Wayne County on June 25-26. This request was granted by FEMA and is the next step in the process of asking for federal assistance.

“This assessment is necessary to confirm the reported damage caused by last weekend’s historic flooding and is a critical step in seeking federal aid,” said Governor Whitmer. “We are exploring all options and pursuing every possible solution to help Michiganders in Wayne County get the resources they need to recover from the damage caused by this devastating flood.”

The joint PDA teams will be comprised of personnel from FEMA, the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD), local governments and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Joint PDA teams are expected to begin gathering information in the affected communities as early as next week. They will spend several days collecting estimated response and recovery costs with a focus on the number of damaged buildings, displaced individuals and threats to health and safety.

About the Disaster  On June 25 and 26, heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding in Wayne County, damaging infrastructure and private property. On June 26, Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Wayne County. By declaring a state of emergency, Whitmer made available all state resources in cooperation with local response and recovery efforts in the designated area.

The declaration authorizes the MSP/EMHSD to coordinate state efforts above and beyond what MSP/EMHSD has already been doing in conjunction with local agencies.