Top, Gov. Rick Snyder, far left, is briefed by local officials Tuesday in Houghton on the flash flooding that inflicted heavy damage in the area. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette photo)

HOUGHTON — Gov. Rick Snyder visited Houghton County Tuesday to survey damage from Sunday’s flash floods which were responsible for claiming the life of a 12-year-old boy.

The Houghton County child, Thatcher Markham, who was injured in Sunday morning’s flood, has died of his injuries, Houghton Middle School said in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

Markham was trapped inside his Houghton Canal Road home after flooding caused the basement of the house to collapse, according to the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office.

He had been taken to Mott’s Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, and had been on life support Monday, according to the sheriff’s office.

During his visit to Houghton, Snyder expressed condolences to the Markham family, describing the loss as a “terrible thing to have happen.”

“It’s awful to lose a youth in the prime of their life,” he said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and all of their relatives.”

Snyder declared a state of disaster for Houghton and Menominee counties Tuesday, opening the way for state and federal assistance.

“We did a helicopter tour around the area to look at the damage, and there’s some serious damage,” he said. “I appreciate how everyone’s rallied though to help clean things up, and we have more resources on the way.”

Snyder met with local, state and county officials to discuss state recovery efforts. The state has already begun damage assessment efforts, and is talking with business owners and families about what damage has been done, he said.

Snyder said he appreciated work the Michigan Department of Transportation is doing on highways and other roadways, as well as work done by local municipalities’ departments of public works.

“This is all about partnership,” he said. “We have the National Guard on the way. They’ll be coming in soon with some heavy equipment to really help expedite this cleanup.”

The National Guard was also called out after flash floods in Gogebic County in 2016, which is serving as a template for the Houghton County response.

“We learned a lot of good things, and hopefully we can apply that here with our local partners to say, as we redo things, we look at the question of ‘this could happen again,’ and are there things we can do to prevent it happening again,” Snyder said.

In response to a resident’s concerns about lack of erosion control leading to mudslides that hit her home in Ripley, Snyder said an analysis should be done to determine where the greatest risk areas are.

“The good part is, hopefully we’re not going to see rain right now and this gives us more time to work on solutions,” he said. “But then let’s look at: are there long-term issues we need to be attentive to for long-term prevention?”

In addition to the helicopter tour, Snyder stopped by the site of a sinkhole near Huron Creek on Sharon Avenue and 5th and Elm on Shelden Avenue.

Along with reopening roads, Snyder said resiliency from businesses such as 5th and Elm is necessary, especially with the tourism season in full swing.

“He had flooding issues but he opened the next day,” he said. “That’s that kind of spirit of Michiganders we need to bounce back from (this).”

Funeral arrangements for Thatcher Markham will be announced at a later date.

Cards and notes for the Markham family can be dropped off at the elementary and middle school offices.

For students and families who need support, Dial Help offers 24-hour counseling services, available at 906-482-9077. Online chat is available at dialhelp.org or via text at 906-356-3337.

Anyone wanting to contribute to the family’s expenses can donate to a GoFundMe account at gofundme.com/thatcher-markham-fundraiser.

Baraga Area Schools will also host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the family from 5 to 8 p.m. June 29 at the school building.