Governor Gretchen Whitmer is a lifelong Michigander. She is a lawyer, an educator, former prosecutor, State Representative and Senator. She was the first woman to lead a Senate caucus. But the most important title she boasts is MOM. Inspired by her family, she’s devoted her life to building a stronger Michigan for everyone.
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July 18, 2022
On May 12, 2022, a significant weather system moved through parts of northern Michigan, bringing thunderstorms and heavy rains that set the one-day rainfall record for the local National Weather Service office. Marquette County, including the City of Ishpeming, experienced flash flooding that caused many roads to be impassible to emergency vehicles and resulted in substantial road damage. As a result of the storm and flash flooding, Marquette County declared a local state of emergency on May 24.
Local officials took several actions to respond to the situation, including but not limited to activating the disaster or emergency response and recovery aspects of their emergency operations plans, implementing emergency protective efforts to mitigate damage to public property, and diverting traffic from affected areas. Despite local response efforts, the City of Ishpeming and Marquette County both experienced widespread damage to their road infrastructure, including approximately twenty road closures across the County due to complete or partial failure of the road surfaces. Restoring those roads to the condition that they were in before the storm has and will require a large investment from the County and its municipalities. State assistance and other outside resources are necessary to effectively respond to and recover from the effect of this emergency, to protect public health, safety, and property, and to lessen or avert the threat of more severe and lasting harm.
Section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 vests the executive power of the State of Michigan in the governor. Under the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, as amended, MCL 30.403(4), “[t]he governor shall, by executive order or proclamation, declare a state of emergency if he or she finds that an emergency has occurred or that the threat of an emergency exists.”
Therefore, acting under the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, including the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, as amended, MCL 30.401 to 30.421, I order the following:
1. A state of emergency is declared for Marquette County.
2. The Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division of the Department of State Police must coordinate and maximize all state efforts and may call upon all state departments to utilize available resources to assist in the designated area pursuant to the Michigan Emergency Management Plan.
3. The state of emergency is terminated at such time as the threats to public health, safety, and property caused by the emergency no longer exist, and appropriate programs have been implemented to recover from the effects of this emergency, but in no case later than August 15, unless extended as provided by the Emergency Management Act.
Click to view the full PDF of the executive order.
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