The Federal Emergency Management Agency has eight teams surveying damage in four mid-Michigan counties hard hit by flooding last month.
The FEMA assessment will play a large role in the state’s expected request for federal disaster relief.
More than seven inches of rain fell on parts of Isabella, Midland, Bay and Gladwin counties last month. Homes were flooded. Roads washed away. Even buildings at Central Michigan University sustained heavy damage. Local officials peg the damage in the tens of millions of dollars.
FEMA spokesman Paul Corah says the flood waters may have receded, but recovery will take time.
“Flooding takes days, weeks, months, sometimes years to recover from it. 'Cause you lose a lot of your stuff,” says Corah.
Corah says it will take the FEMA teams up to two weeks to complete their damage survey. It’s possible the governor’s office could file a formal request for federal disaster relief before the end of the month.
