Gov. Rick Snyder announced last week that the state of Michigan is deploying two Michigan State Police staff members to Puerto Rico to provide logistical resourcing support.

The deployment is occurring as a result of a request made for out-of-state support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the people of Puerto Rico who have been impacted by this catastrophic event,” Snyder said. “We’re pleased to answer this request for assistance to support the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as they continue recovery efforts.”

The MSP personnel will work with the government of Puerto Rico to obtain and manage emergency assistance from other states. This will include reaching out to states with available resources, coordinating incoming resources and supporting resources that are already on the ground.

“We have been monitoring recent EMAC requests from Texas, Florida, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to identify opportunities for Michigan to help our fellow Americans,” said Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the MSP and state director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. “Our staff is well trained and ready to help.”

MSP personnel have been providing virtual support to the EMAC coordinating team in Puerto Rico by assisting with coordination of state and National Guard resources and providing technical capabilities when communications or connectivity were not available in Puerto Rico.

The EMAC is an all hazards/all disciplines mutual aid compact between the states to provide consistent and coordinated response to emergencies and disasters across the nation. All costs associated with deploying resources under EMAC are paid for by the requesting state.

Since joining EMAC in 2002, Michigan has sent resources out-of-state several times, including response efforts for Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in 2005, severe flooding in Minnesota in 2009, Hurricane Irene in New York in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey in 2012 and Hurricane Irma in Florida in 2017.