Feds giving $4.6M to Michiganders affected by tornadoes and flooding

LANSING, MI - More than $4.6 million has been approved for Michigan residents whose property was damaged by strong storms last August.

After tornadoes, severe storms and flooding hit Michigan between Aug. 24 and Aug. 26, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared the counties of Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, Kent, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland and Wayne as disaster areas.

Anyone affected can apply for federal assistance including temporary lodging, home repairs and other disaster-related expenses.

To date, more than 1,630 households have been approved for federal grant funding totaling $4.6 million. This includes about $4 million for housing grants and $635,000 for essential disaster-related needs like medical costs and lost personal property, according to FEMA.

Renters can also apply for FEMA assistance to replace personal property like furniture, appliances, clothing, textbooks and some vehicles. And anyone with student loans can postpone their payments for up to 90 days.

In addition to the FEMA aid, the Small Business Administration has received 473 applications for low-interest disaster loans and the National Flood Insurance Program has awarded $2.7 million to 77 households whose property was damaged by floodwaters.

The federal aid comes after seven tornadoes ripped through five Michigan counties on Aug. 24, killing five people and causing widespread damage and power outages. The morning before the tornadoes, Wayne and Monroe counties experienced severe flooding that closed roads, flooded homes and stranded vehicles.

Anyone affected by these storms can apply for federal assistance by April 8 by:

Going to DisasterAssistance.gov.
Using the FEMA mobile app.
Calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

More information about the response in Michigan is available at www.fema.gov/disaster/4757.