Snyder declared a state emergency on Tuesday and activated the National Guard to assist in distributing water, filters, and other supplies.
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Barack Obama has declared a federal emergency over a city’s toxic water crisis that has left more than 100,000 residents without water safe enough to drink or cook with. Flint can get up to $5 million in direct funding, though the state must match 25 percent and more money can be provided through an act of Congress.
“I appreciate the president approving my federal emergency request and supporting Flint during this critical situation”, Snyder said in a news release.
The state’s top legal official, Attorney General Bill Schuette said on Friday he was investigating the water crisis to determine if any MI laws were violated, according to WTVR Richmond. Exposure to lead can cause behaviour problems and learning disabilities in children as kidney ailments in adults.
Additionally, Flint residents were dealt another blow on Wednesday when Governor Snyder announced there had been a surge in the number of cases of legionnaires disease in Flint over the past year, possibly linked to the tainted water in Flint.
The Iceland-based company said the water would go directly to community centers, food banks and fire stations in the city, with empty bottles returned to the food bank and recycled to provide a donation.
In addition, according to the lawsuit, the corrosive water also sent lead into the water supply, because about half of the service lines to homes in Flint are made of lead. There are boxes for 18 different disasters but none for “public health” as listed by the Snyder administration.
“Critics say the state’s response – in particular, the governor’s handling of the crisis – has been inadequate at best, criminal at worst”, Michigan Radio’s Steve Carmody reported for NPR earlier this week.
Much of the anger over Flint’s long-running water problems has fallen on Snyder due to the fact the decision to use river water came while the city was under the control of an emergency manager he appointed. “The people of Flint deserve more than an apology”.
FEMA has been authorized to identify, mobilize and provide equipment and resources necessary to alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the contaminated water in Flint and avert the threat of a catastrophe.
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But after the switch, residents complained the water looked, smelled and tasted amusing.
