Lansing, Michigan – Under the authority of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), personnel from the state of Michigan were sent to Florida to help in disaster recovery efforts.

Seven state employees from the departments of State Police, Community Health, Transportation, and the Family Independence Agency, were deployed on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2004, to the state forward command post in Orlando where they will help with operations, planning, emergency services, infrastructure, human services and logistics in the affected counties.

"The EMAC was designed for situations such as this," said Captain John Ort, Deputy State Director of Homeland Security and commander of the Michigan State Police Emergency Management Division. "Michigan welcomes the opportunity to help the state of Florida in their time of need."

The EMAC is an interstate mutual aid agreement that enables states to share resources during times of disaster. Michigan became the 43^rd participating state on Jan. 8, 2002. This is the first time Michigan has provided assistance under the compact