Beginning Tuesday, May 12 teams of federal, state and local personnel will conduct joint preliminary damage assessments in 30 Michigan counties and the city of Kalamazoo.
They will be assessing damage until next week, said Lauren Thompson, public information officer for the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division.
The damage and impact data will be used to determine whether specific disasters meet criteria to warrant a governor’s request for a federal disaster declaration and FEMA individual assistance.
The state is asking for an extension until June 26 for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to send her request. This is the largest joint preliminary damage assessment in state history, Thompson said.
With this preliminary analysis the state will have more information for Whitmer to request federal aid from President Donald Trump.
Once the governor’s request is made, there is not a set timeline on when the president approves the aid and residents may start applying for financial help, Thompson said.
“There really is no way to put a timeline on it,” Thompson said. “Personally here in my role at the state, I’ve seen it take a couple weeks, I’ve seen it take up to six months. So it’s hard to put that in the box.”
Crews will be verifying damage reports starting from April 10 when the State of Emergency was activated for rising water on the Mullet Lake watershed and Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex in Northern Michigan.
This time period also includes nine tornadoes that touched down April 15-16. That storm left clusters of damage behind in Montcalm and Allegan counties as well as Saginaw and Ann Arbor.
Michigan’s tornado total is 15 so far in 2026, ahead of the state’s annual average.
There’s currently 40 counties and three municipalities under a state of emergency in Michigan , Thompson said.
“Flooding, snowmelt, tornadoes — we’ve seen it all here in Michigan over the last few weeks and have been hit quite hard across the board," she said. “A lot of our residents have been deeply affected by that. So this begins the effort of potentially getting residents some help from the federal government.”
Teams are starting in the hardest hit areas that have already been assessed by locals, Thompson said.
The state and federal teams will start validating damages this week in Allegan, Barry, Benzie, Charlevoix and Saginaw counites and the city of Kalamazoo.
Six teams will spread out and continue the assessment to all 30 counties until next week, Thompson said.
Residents don’t have to be home to be included in the assessment, the teams will leave behind contact information or residents can call 211.
There is currently no FEMA aid for homeowners or renters until federal authorization from President Donald Trump is issued. FEMA agents will not enter homes, public information officer Nicole Wilson said.
Assessors will want to know if residents were displaced from their homes and if they are insured. Wilson said they will also ask residents, if they lost access to primary living spaces like a kitchen and bedroom or access to primary utilities like furnaces and water heaters.
Wilson emphasized these are preliminary assessments and even if the president authorizes FEMA assistance, individuals will still need to apply for assistance.
“Individual assistance and how much they will receive is all based on each individual person’s story,” Wilson said. “No one has the same story as their neighbor. Even if a team visits your home today, if an authorization is approved, they will still need to come and apply for assistance.”
Assessment locations include: Alcona, Allegan, Alpena, Antrim, Barry, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Gratiot, Iosco, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mecosta, Missaukee, Montcalm, Montmorency, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Oscoda, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Saginaw and Wexford counties, and the city of Kalamazoo.
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