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State Representative Scott Dianda is adding his voice to the call that President Trump make a federal disaster declaration.
Dianda introduced a resolution in the state house last week calling for the declaration for the counties of Houghton, Gogebic, and Menominee, all of which are still struggling to clean up and rebuild after widespread damage from flooding in June.
“The disaster declaration from Gov. Rick Snyder helped our communities respond to the needs of residents and businesses immediately after the catastrophic floods on June 17, but nearly a month later we still need additional help to continue our recovery,” said Dianda. “State officials have assessed the situation and determined that the damage has reached federal disaster declaration levels. I hope that we can get a quick response from the president so that families and businesses can continue working to get their lives back together.”
Two days of intense storms and flash flooding did significant damage to roads, highways, businesses and homes. Washouts and sinkholes destroyed and damaged roads, trails, homes and businesses. Federal aid would allow homeowners and businesses to apply for assistance through programs, grants and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. It would also help with state costs for work on public facilities such as schools and roads.
“These were unexpected and disastrous floods, and now we need to make sure that our repairs to our buildings and roads can withstand this kind of an event in the future,” said Dianda. “Our families, kids, businesses and local governments are working hard to recover. We appreciate all of the state assistance and the help from volunteers. Now we need our federal government to lend a hand and I look forward to working with them on our recovery.”
