FEMA Inspectors May Have Sent Mixed Signal; Flood Aid Isn't a Sure Thing

Though some residents are reporting as much as $100,000 damage from the Floods of 2014, federal aid isn’t a sure thing. (Patch file photo)

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Metro residents shouldn’t count on too much help from the federal government in the cleanup from record Aug. 11 rains that caused freeway flooding, sewer backups in basements and road collapses.

“Early on in this event, there were some elected officials that made statements that could easily be interpreted to mean that there’s money coming your way for this,” Theodore Quisenberry, Oakland County Homeland Security manager, told the Detroit Free Press.

About 20 Federal Emergency Management Agency inspectors and other staff members toured Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties Friday.

“We really need to start managing people’s expectations/ My understanding is that for individuals to be compensated, they pretty much have to be driven from their homes.” – Huntington Woods Mayor Ron Gillham

Their assessments will be forwarded to Gov. Rick Snyder, whose staff will make the decision on whether to forward the request to President Barack Obama.

“We really need to start managing people’s expectations,” said Huntington Woods Mayor Ron Gillham, who had 2 feet of water in his basement. “My understanding is that for individuals to be compensated, they pretty much have to be driven from their homes.”

Some residents, like Patricia Bremer, 41, of Royal Oak, are estimated losses in the $100,00 range.

She and her professional rock musician husband had just finished a basement remodeling job.

“We had just finished renovating down there. We had a full bathroom, all-new laundry room, my daughter’s bedroom, a living area with a flat screen and a gym with treadmill and weights and all that,” she said. “Everything got destroyed.”

Her husband also lost his sound studio.

But Quinsenberry, who formerly served as Royal Oak’s police chief, said that even if the damage meets the threshold for a state disaster declaration, other regions of the country are also experiencing natural disasters, leading to increased competition for federal dollars.

“Certainly, we’ve had people hit very hard (and) it’s never a good thing to compare losses – who’s hurting the most?” he said.

“But we saw buildings totally collapse in California last week, with that earthquake. And go back a few years ago to Hurricane Katrina. Clearly, you can see losses more dramatic in situations like those than what we’ve had here.”

FEMA spokeswoman Sandy Jasmund said the agency’s presence in metro Detroit may also have falsely raised hopes that money is about to flow. It could be months before a determination is made on whether the region would qualify for aid.

“When we go out into any area that’s had a disaster, it sometimes causes expectations that the federal government may come in” with financial aid to individuals, Jasmund said.

If relief is approved, it could flow only to local governments and the Michigan Department of Transportation to repair public infrastructure.