LANSING, MI – Gov. Rick Snyder today requested support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate an interagency recovery plan with other federal agencies to provide resources to Flint. The National Guard arrived Wednesday to help during the water crisis in the city.
Testing in October detected increased lead levels in residential water supplies and in children’s blood. Exposure to lead can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in children.
In addition, Snyder today issued an Executive Order activating the Michigan National Guard to assist with distributing supplies at the five water resource sites established in Flint.
“As we work to ensure that all Flint residents have access to clean and safe drinking water, we are providing them with the direct assistance they need in order to stretch our resources further,” Snyder said. “The Michigan National Guard is trained and ready to assist the citizens of Flint.”
Members of the National Guard started arriving in Flint on Wednesday to assist with response efforts and plan to increase to over 30 personnel by Friday. The support of the National Guard will enable American Red Cross volunteers, who have been staffing the water resource sites since Jan. 9, to join the efforts of the water resource teams going door to door in Flint neighborhoods to distribute bottled water, water filters, replacement cartridges and testing kits.
This is the second time Snyder has activated the National Guard. The first was for the massive Duck Lake Fire in the Upper Peninsula in May 2012.
(H/T: @DaveBondyTV/Twitter)
