UNION CITY, MI (WTVB) – Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began on-the-ground assessments in Union City Tuesday to evaluate the destruction caused by a powerful EF-3 tornado March 6.
Joining teams from the Michigan State Police and the U.S. Small Business Administration, federal investigators surveyed flattened homes and mangled infrastructure along the shores of Union Lake.
The joint assessment is a critical step in determining if the severity of the damage meets the federal threshold required for a presidential disaster declaration, which would unlock additional recovery resources for the community.
The storm, which produced winds estimated at 160 mph, claimed three lives in Branch County and left roughly 70 homes damaged or destroyed in the Union City area.
FEMA representatives spent the day taking photos and documenting losses to assess local insurance coverage and existing state-level recovery gaps. While Governor Gretchen Whitmer has already declared a state of emergency for the impacted counties, local officials are hopeful that the data collected by FEMA will support a formal request for federal aid to assist with long-term rebuilding efforts.
Michigan State Police spokesperson Lauren Thompson says the weather this week was a challenge after a winter storm hit the state less than two weeks after the tornadoes.
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