Gov. Rick Snyder/Photo from Detroit News video
Gov. Rick Snyder, who interrupted an Upper Peninsula fly-fishing break Tuesday to survey the flood devastation by air, said he sees no need to call in the National Guard for help -- at least "not at this point and time," according to a video by The Detroit News.
He said that might change if the rains continue and other complications arise.
On Monday night, Warren Mayor James Fouts said that he was considering asking Gov. Rick Snyder to call in Michigan National Guard troops to assist residents in his community. “It’s overwhelming -- it’s catastrophic,” Fouts said, according to the Macomb Daily.
Snyder said the state will look into what federal aid is available to deal with all the damage.
“This was simply a record event of rain,” he told the press mid-morning before boarding a State Police helicopter at Capital City Airport in Lansing. “The issue is we just need to work through it.”
“A number of roads have been cleared of water at this point, but they still need to get in and do an inspection” to make sure structures haven’t been compromised by the rush of water from heavy Monday rains, he said.
Gary Heinlein and Lauren Abdel-Razzaq of the News write:
Snyder said an emergency operations center was up and running, three squads of State Police had been deployed to help where needed and that dive teams were available.
Michigan Department of Transportation crews were surveying the damage, checking roads and determining what repair work will be necessary. Snyder said MDOT crews also were making sure pumps were in operation to clear standing water off freeways.
