City of Ann Arbor waiting on possible emergency funding after storms, tornado
The city of Ann Arbor continues to clean up the damage from last Wednesday's tornado and strong winds.
Over the weekend, damage assessment crews went door-to-door to gather information that could help secure emergency funding from the state or the feds. CBS News Detroit is checking to see the progress of the assessment.
The city says it has done everything in its power to secure state or FEMA relief for tornado damage repairs, and even if they receive any dollars, city leaders say the decision could take months.
"We have a lot of damage to assess across the state. On the local level of 40 counties and two cities, it's unprecedented," said Michigan Emergency Operations Center spokesperson Lauren Thompson.
Damage assessments in other flooding- and tornado-impacted communities still need to wrap up before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can request a presidential disaster declaration. This would open the door to Federal Emergency Management Agency relief but not guarantee it, according to city leaders.
"If the president approves it, that is when FEMA can then assess the situation here in the state and determine what kind of reimbursement programs they'll offer," said Ann Arbor Emergency Operations Manager Sydney Parmenter.
State emergency management officials say that could be public assistance, which helps reimburse communities, or individual assistance. It would help residents pay for specific disaster-related insurance that isn't already covered.
"FEMA is designed to support residents, individuals. Help them get back on their feet, but again, we're really looking at that uninsured or underinsured damage to primary living spaces. That doesn't include trees in yards, trees in driveways. It doesn't include secondary residences," Thompson said.
Parmenter says residents should prioritize rebuilding now, while waiting to see if federal reimbursements will be available down the line.
"The best advice we can tell our residents right now is to document everything, take photos, document what was damaged. If you have insurance, please go through that process to file a claim," Parmenter said.
That includes submitting any damage to the state's self-reporting survey, which will help them lessen the time it takes to appeal for potential FEMA disaster relief.