DETROIT – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a plan to use $10 million in emergency spending to help residents recover from June flooding.
The funding will be allocated to the City of Detroit, Wayne County and Washtenaw County to set up residential gap funding grant programs to assist households not eligible for federal assistance.
The money comes from the state general funds and is meant to help households impacted by heavy rainfall and flooding on June 25 and 26.
“Recognizing the hardships the flooding has placed on individuals and families that sustained damage to their homes and loss of personal property, we are working with Wayne and Washtenaw counties and the City of Detroit to ensure this funding is available to help residents as they recover from this disaster,” Whitmer said. “I appreciate the partnership with the counties and City of Detroit in putting together these programs to help get residents back on their feet.”
A State of Emergency was declared due to the impact of the severe flooding. The heavy rainfall resulted in widespread flooding, power outages, flooded roadways, flooding of homes and displaced residents.
I’ve activated the Michigan State Emergency Operations Center in response to flooding across the state.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) June 26, 2021
As communities continue to experience extraordinary rainfall, this will help us better direct resources to meet local needs.
On Monday (July 26), Whitmer signed a $385 million supplemental budget bill. Within that bill was a new law that allocated $10 million in state emergency spending for places hit with tornadoes, heavy rainfall and flooding in late June.
When she signed the bill, she indicated that officials were working on a plan to help people with flooded basements. She also noted that President Joe Biden made federal disaster assistance available.
Biden formally declared a disaster in Michigan on July 15. That declaration freed up federal funds to assist with recovery and relief efforts.
“President Biden’s declaration opens up critical resources to help Michigan residents recover from this disaster,” Whitmer said Thursday. “The flooding on June 25-26 had devastating impacts on Wayne and Washtenaw County residents who suffered damage to their homes, loss of personal property, and faced unimaginable stress. With the resources we will receive thanks to President Biden’s leadership, we will put Michiganders first and help our communities recover and rebuild.”
Whitmer has also requested $50 million in federal assistance to repair damaged highways and purchase backup pump station generators.