Major Disaster Declaration expanded to include Macomb and Oakland counties after record flooding

Households impacted by flooding in areas eligible to apply for assistance

Natasha Dado , Web Producer

DETROIT – On Saturday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted her request to expand the Major Disaster Declaration to include households in Macomb and Oakland counties following heavy rainfall and flooding across southeast Michigan in late June.

FEMA’s agreement to expand the disaster declaration follows a letter Whitmer sent to FEMA appealing a previous denial of assistance to the areas.

“I want to thank the Biden Administration for their continued partnership in securing additional assistance for Michigan families. FEMA’s decision to grant our request for individual assistance is welcome news for Michiganders in Oakland and Macomb counties who have been impacted by unprecedented flooding this summer,” said Whitmer. “We are going to do everything in our power to ensure that Michiganders get the assistance they need to recover from these storms. And we have an opportunity under the bipartisan infrastructure bill to make long-term upgrades to our infrastructure to ensure that local systems can handle historic rainfall going forward.”

The federal declaration makes households affected by the flooding in Macomb and Oakland counties eligible to apply for individual assistance, such as grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people and businesses recover.

HOW TO APPLY

FEMA offers multiple options to apply:

• Call 800-621-3362. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. The toll-free numbers are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET, seven days a week.

When you apply for assistance, have the following information readily available:

• A current phone number where you can be contacted;

• Your address at the time of the disaster and the address where you are now staying;

• Your Social Security number;

• A general list of damage and losses, and

• Private insurance information, if available.

Individuals in Washtenaw and Wayne counties can already apply for help if they have uninsured or underinsured losses from the late June disaster. The deadline to apply is October 13, 2021.

For more information about Michigan’s disaster recovery, visit FEMA’s website.

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