BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – A request from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to declare a major disaster for the May 7 tornadoes that hit Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph counties has been denied by Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA said 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.”
State Senator Sean McCann has asked Whitmer to appeal, which she can do within 30 days.
One tornado that hit Kalamazoo County was an EF-2 which had top winds of 135-miles-an-hour. It destroyed at least 60 buildings and did major damage to 129 others.
Branch County Emergency Management Director Tim Miner said the EF-2 and EF-1 tornados that touched down in Sherwood Township caused significant damage along a six-mile path in Branch County.
The EF-2 tornado covered 19 miles across 2 counties. The maximum winds were estimated at 130 mph with a path 950 yards wide. One person was injured.
Miner adds nine homes were destroyed with another four homes sustaining major damage. There were 24 homes that received minor damage while 19 homes experienced superficial damage.
(Michael Arney contributed to this report)
What? Queen Whitmer of Michigan could not get FEMA to declare a major disaster for the May 7th tornado’s? She can’t even “fix the damn roads” in Michigan and that was her original campaign pledge. Guess she doesn’t have the influence with DC that everybody thought she had. They kicked her to the curb. Vote Trump for President and in 2 years kick the Democrats to the curb in Lansing.