Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expanded Michigan’s state of emergency Friday to cover five more counties and two cities as flooding and tornado damage continued to pile up across the state.
The new additions are Eaton, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Mecosta, and Muskegon counties, plus the cities of Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo. The expansion follows a week of escalating declarations that now stretch across dozens of Michigan counties, from the Upper Peninsula border down through metro Detroit’s western suburbs.
Whitmer started the emergency declaration process on April 10, when flooding threatened the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex in Cheboygan County. By Wednesday, she had added 32 more counties. Friday’s announcement pushed the total coverage even further south and west.
“This declaration will help these areas with recovery efforts as they work to clean up after severe weather damaged homes, roads, and businesses,” Whitmer said in a press release. “My administration will continue to work with local emergency managers over the weekend and monitor water levels across the state.”
Nine tornadoes confirmed
Nine tornadoes touched down across Michigan late Tuesday and into early Wednesday. One hit Ann Arbor directly. Another was confirmed near the Allen Park and Lincoln Park border in Wayne County, well within metro Detroit’s footprint. The remaining seven struck in Saginaw, Shiawassee, Allegan, Barry, Branch, Montcalm, and Gratiot counties.
No fatalities. No injuries. But property damage was significant in several of those areas, and the storm track covered a wide swath of the Lower Peninsula.
The tornadoes came on top of severe rainfall that already had roads and infrastructure stressed across the region. That combination drove Whitmer to activate the State Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday to track flooding risk and monitor potential dam failure threats, a step that typically precedes broader emergency declarations.
The dam situation in Cheboygan
The Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex has been the most closely watched pressure point since the crisis began. As of 3:30 p.m. Friday, water sat 7.32 inches below the top of the dam, down 0.24 inches from the previous measurement, according to the Michigan State Police website.
That’s a small improvement. Whitmer’s team isn’t treating it as a reason to stand down.
“The forecast for next week is looking better, which should provide some breathing room for first responders, but we aren’t out of the woods yet,” Whitmer said. “Let’s continue to stay vigilant, and we will get through this together.”
The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division has been posting water level updates as local managers watch for any sign the structure could be overtopped.
What the declaration actually does
A state of emergency declaration under Michigan law unlocks state resources and speeds up the process for localities to request reimbursement for emergency response costs. It also positions counties to apply for federal disaster assistance if damage assessments warrant it.
That matters for places like Kalamazoo, which took a direct tornado hit and now has both a county and city declaration in place. Local governments covering debris removal, road repairs, and emergency personnel overtime can’t always absorb those costs without state backing, and the declaration gives them a cleaner path to get reimbursed.
The full Wednesday list of 32 counties added to the original Cheboygan declaration reads like a map of Michigan’s midsection and northern Lower Peninsula: Alcona, Allegan, Alpena, Antrim, Arenac, Barry, Benzie, Charlevoix, Clare, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Gratiot, Iosco, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Menominee, Missaukee, Montcalm, Montmorency, Newaygo, Oceana, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Osceola, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Saginaw, Shiawassee, and Wexford.
Friday’s five-county addition extends that coverage into the I-94 corridor and the Muskegon lakeshore.
What’s next
Whitmer said her administration will monitor water levels through the weekend. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy tracks dam safety statewide and would be involved in any assessment of infrastructure risk as levels fluctuate.
The Michigan Advance reported that Whitmer spoke to reporters Thursday in Cheboygan as water levels at the dam complex remained a concern.
The Cheboygan dam reading Friday afternoon was 0.24 inches lower than the previous check. Slow progress, but it’s moving in the right direction.
