GARDEN CITY, Mich. (WXYZ) — It is not easy to be a mayor of a city helping people respond to a disastrous flood, especially when you yourself are a victim.
“I feel for all the residents going through this. It is tough going through this,” said Randy Walker, Mayor of Garden City.
Mayor Walker says as of Tuesday 585 people reported flooding in Garden City. He is one of them.
As more than six inches of rain fell, sewage water backed up into his house, destroying his furnace, washer, dryer, flooring, dry-wall, cupboards, and more.
While he is trying to clean up the mess, he is working to get out the message. As mayor, he definitely wants to be able to provide federal assistance to help people cover what they lost, but to qualify for federal funds the community needs to prove it lost a significant amount of property.
“That’s what we are going to go after. So if people are unreported our numbers are going to be lower,” said Mayor Walker.
This isn’t just in Garden City. Communities impacted across the area have forms for people to fill out within 45 days of the flood. Communities will then turn the reports over to the county.
“Because you know the governor did declare in Wayne County a State of Emergency. We encourage all of them to work with their municipalities,” said Beverly Watts, Wayne County Department of Public Services Director, as she asked people to file reports.
“And I want to remind people that Detroit had a disaster a year or two ago and didn’t document enough of the damage so they didn’t qualify for FEMA. Which is why I keep saying to everybody document your damage and get it to the city,” said U.S. Rep Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan).
“We’re all in it together. It’s a mess,” said Walker.
Here are links to where you can learn more about filing a claim in some communities impacted:
