Vice President Pence
Vice President Pence
Rep. Annette Glenn (R-Midland) hand-delivered to Vice President Mike Pence a letter urging President Donald Trump to declare Midland County a federal disaster area due to recent severe flooding caused by dam failures.
While Glenn said on the Michigan House Republicans website that she normally doesn't have time for rallies in her schedule as a legislator, the trip to Sterling Heights was worth it in her attempt to guarantee swift action from the administration.
"[Pence] very graciously assured me that he’s aware of the request, that it’s on President Trump’s desk, and said he expects it’ll be signed in the next couple days,” she said, according to NBC 25 News.
Glenn thought that was great news, considering the plight of thousands of families in the area in need of urgent assistance.
The letter, of which Glenn mailed a copy to Trump prior to the meeting with Pence, asks for Trump to declare a major disaster for mid-Michigan communities hit hardest by the flooding.
Such a declaration would open up additional resources for handling the situation.
“Moving forward, our communities certainly need further assistance,” the letter reads, according to Michigan House Republicans. “As you know, we had multiple dam failures resulting in devastating flooding. Not only are our communities faced with two lakes that are now nearly drained and millions of dollars in dam repairs, but we also had roads and bridges completely wiped away, homes that floated off their foundations, a village’s entire business district in ruins and more. The destruction caused by this flooding is unimaginable.”
The nature of the flood has added problems, as it affected many whose homes were not in a flood zone, therefore having no flood insurance.
"Many of our families, friends and neighbors were already struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic," Glenn told Michigan House Republicans. "Now they’ve been dealt an additional blow from flooding, and they’re facing the significant financial burden of repairing or completely rebuilding their homes."
Alerts Sign-up