(Portage, MI) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied the request of Governor Gretchen Whitmer for a major disaster declaration for the May 7 tornadoes that hit Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph counties. FEMA says in a letter that the damage from the storm “was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies.”
“The letter that we received references that local and state sources should be sufficient, but that is far from the truth because people are truly suffering, and we truly don’t have the resources needed to get everybody back on their feet,” said Portage City Manager Pat McGinnis.
State Senator Sean McCann has asked Whitmer to appeal, which she can do within 30 days. One May 7 tornado that hit Kalamazoo County was an EF-2 which had top winds of 135-miles-an-hour and destroyed at least 60 buildings and did major damage to 129 others.
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