Midland, Michigan - Flood waters as high as five feet
submerged parts of the city of Midland in central Michigan on
Wednesday after heavy rain caused a swollen river to overflow
its banks and breach two nearby dams, but there were no
immediate reports of casualties.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of
"life-threatening" flooding as water levels of the Tittabawassee
River in Midland, about 120 miles northwest of Detroit, reached
historic levels and were expected to continue rising.
"Never in my whole life have we seen the dam fail," said
Mark Bone, 53, a business owner and resident of the city of
Midland. "It flood real bad in '86, but never like this."
Bone, who also serves as chairman of the Midland County
Board of Commissioners, said he has not slept much since the
evacuations were ordered for the south and west sides of Midland
two nights ago as a precaution. He said no injuries or deaths
had been reported as yet.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday declared an
emergency for Midland County, including the city of Midland,
with about 40,000 residents after days of heavy rain led to the
collapse of the Edenville and Sanford dams.
A view looking west on North Saginaw Road as the Tittabawassee River overflows in Midland, Michigan. Picture: Carlos Osorio/AP
The governor said flood waters in downtown Midland could
reach about nine feet of water by Wednesday. She will have an
update on conditions on Wednesday afternoon.
"There's an ongoing flooding in parts of Midland with
several feet of water, covering some streets of downtown
Midland," NWS meteorologist Andrew Arnold told Reuters on
Wednesday. He said flood waters had already reached five feet in
parts of downtown.
The Tittabawassee River overflows in Freeland, Michigan. Picture: Carlos Osorio/AP
The extreme flooding comes as the state struggles with the
economic and social fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which
could further strain resources and hamper the response to the
crisis.
County officials had instructed residents of the affected
areas to evacuate to shelters set up in the area.
Michigan State officers return as the Tittabawassee River overflows in Midland, Michigan. Picture: Carlos Osorio/AP
Video posted on social media showed high waters lapping
around buildings in downtown Midland, partly submerging bridges
and roads.
Bone said the village of Sanford, the site of one of the
dams, has been hit the hardest.
"A lot of businesses are underwater. Luckily no one has died
or been hurt," he said.
Firefighters launch a boat as the Tittabawassee River overflows in Midland, Michigan. Picture: Carlos Osorio/AP
He said that most people so far are sheltering out of town
with friends and relatives, but he has not checked the shelters
Wednesday morning.
"People are helping each other," he said. "That's the way we
are. We're a good old hometown Midwest."
About 5,400 customers out of nearly 41,000 in the Midland
area were without power as a result of the flooding.