Letter to President George W. Bush, Re: Disaster Relief for Flood Damaged Areas of State

Letter

Stabenow, Levin, Michigan Delegation, Urge Approval of Disaster Relief for Flood Damaged Areas of State

In light of recent severe weather, timely action needed in response to storm destruction

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI), along with members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation, today sent the following letter to President George W. Bush urging the declaration of a major disaster for the State of Michigan enabling the state to qualify for immediate federal assistance. This request comes on the heels of severe storms that ravaged the state June 6 to June 13 causing the deaths of six Michigan residents. The storms also destroyed homes and severely depleted state and local resources.

"Families in Michigan continue to suffer from the devastating effects of last month's storms which took lives and caused severe damage to homes and roads," said Senator Stabenow. "It is imperative that the President declare a major disaster for our state, so our local communities and first responders can get the resources they need quickly."

"Michigan is still reeling from the destructive storms that swept through the lower peninsula in early June, causing extensive flooding and leaving power outages and mountains of debris in their wake," said Sen. Levin. "I hope the President will quickly approve Governor Granholm's request for a major disaster declaration to help Michigan recover."

Full text of the letter follows:

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20560-2006

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to strongly support Governor Jennifer M. Granholm's request that you declare a major disaster for the State of Michigan as a result of heavy rainfall, flooding, and wind damage that occurred in the counties of Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Missaukee, Osceola, Ottawa, Saginaw, and Wexford during the period from June 6 to June 13.

As you may know, a series of thunderstorms occurred in waves across southern, central, and northern Lower Michigan beginning on June 6 affecting 20 counties. The initial series of storms occurred June 6-8 in west Lower Michigan and continued across the central part of Lower Michigan. While still reeling from the destruction of those storms, the state experienced a subsequent outbreak of storms that hit northwest Lower Michigan on June 12-13.

During these storms, Michigan experienced three confirmed tornadoes, straight-line winds in excess of 70 miles per hour, and more than 11 inches of rain in some areas. Six people were killed, homes have been destroyed, portions of Michigan's infrastructure have been devastated, and resources were exhausted.

The storms caused extensive flooding, erosion, and mountains of debris. The events destroyed roads, drains, municipal sewer systems, electrical infrastructure, and a power generation facility. Citizens were stranded and left without power for an extended period of time, some up to five days. Michigan citizens and public servants continue to work tirelessly to recover from these events, but state and local resources are depleted.

We hope careful consideration will be given to Governor Granholm's request. Timely federal assistance is important to help Michigan communities recover from these recent events.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) Congressman Sander Levin (D-MI) Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) Congressman John Dingell (D-MI) Congressman Dale Kildee (D-MI) Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI) Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI) Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI)