USA TODAY International Edition

‘ It’s devastatin­g’

Thousands of homes destroyed in catastroph­ic Mich. flood

- Frank Witsil, Jeff Seidel and Angie Jackson

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Up and down the river, Michigande­rs were drawn to the edge of the water out of curiosity. They stood on high ground and took pictures of the river, which was spilling through the town.

Most were not wearing face masks. There is little doubt Wednesday that life has now gotten much harder for an estimated 10,000 mid- Michigan residents who have homes that were destroyed in a record flood amid a pandemic.

Moreover, the costs to recover for cities like Midland, which were underwater, will be staggering – and long- lasting.

“The people of Michigan are able to rise up. We’re tough. We’re smart, and we care about each other.”

“What I can tell you, you’ve already seen from the pictures,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday afternoon in front of Midland High School after taking an aerial tour of the flooding. “It’s devastatin­g.”

In addition to days of downpours, two dams – Edenville and Sanford – in the center of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula overflowed, an issue that Whitmer vowed that the state will be reviewing “every legal recourse that we have” because the damage requires that we “hold people responsibl­e.”

The timing of the flooding is especially precarious, coming amid a pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 5,000 Michigande­rs and left about a third of the state’s workforce unemployed.

About 130 National Guard soldiers and more than 40 specialize­d vehicles were dispatched on Tuesday to help, with more than 200 more on the way.

Still, even as the floodwaters continued to rise to record levels and public officials tried Wednesday to sort out the damage and figure out how to keep people safe amid a pandemic, there was hope.

It had stopped raining, the sun had come out, and no one had died.

And residents came together to traverse treacherou­s roads to deliver sheltered evacuees food, and the governor took a moment in Midland during her otherwise serious media briefing to lightheart­edly remind everyone to keep their distance.

Floodwater­s came quickly

And on top of that, there was the continuing political backdrop of President Donald Trump tweeting both support after the flooding and threats to withhold funding for Michigan if state officials moved ahead with plans to send absentee ballot applicatio­ns to every voter.

Trump is expected to visit the state Thursday.

About 100 people slept at a shelter set up at Midland High, their cots and air mattresses spread across the basketball floor. The beds were kept 6 feet apart because of social distancing.

A few people slept in their cars to avoid catching coronaviru­s.

In the shelter, people still had to maintain social distancing requiremen­ts. Everybody was required to wear masks. Three volunteers walked around the gym, continuous­ly wiping down beds.

The Tittabawas­see River in Midland entered major flood stage Tuesday when the river reached 28.25 feet at 10: 15 a. m., according to the National Weather Service. By that afternoon, the Tittabawas­see and the Rifle rivers hit major flood stage.

The Edenville Dam on the Tittabawas­see River, which is owned by Boyce Hydro, failed Tuesday evening, and the National Weather Service warned to expect flooding.

Water then went downstream to Sanford Lake, spilling over Sanford Dam. It was unclear how bad the damage was to Sanford Dam and whether it had breached or had just overflowed.

‘ We’re tough. We’re smart’

Midland, a city of 42,000, is about 8 miles downstream from the Sanford Dam and faced an especially serious flooding threat. Dow Chemical Co.’ s main plant sits on the city’s riverbank.

By Wednesday, Midland was at the center of the damage but not the only community reeling.

Despite Wednesday’s sunshine, Midland City Manager Brad Kaye said, the floodwaters continued to rise throughout the day setting new records. He warned residents: “Don’t let up, don’t take it easy.”

He said the city had been through other storms and flooding, but, “we have never been through an event such as what we are experienci­ng today.” He said that the sewer system had not held up, and there were power outages.

Up and down the river, people stared in awe at the extent of the flooding.

“Downtown Midland hasn’t been this packed since all the coronaviru­s stuff hit,” said David Reif, 29, of Midland.

He stood on high ground with Kristen Gerstenber­ger, 26, and they looked down at the Farmers Market, which was submerged.

“It’s up to the roof,” Reif said. “I don’t know if that is a 9- or 10- foot ceiling.”

Wednesday, Trump posted his support on Twitter for efforts to respond to flooding in mid- Michigan that has resulted in thousands of evacuation­s.

“My team is closely monitoring the flooding in Central Michigan – Stay SAFE and listen to local officials,” Trump posted about 10: 20 a. m. “Our brave First Responders are once again stepping up to serve their fellow citizens, THANK YOU!”

He also said in a separate post that his administra­tion had already activated military and Federal Emergency Management Agency response teams, but added that Whitmer – who Trump has criticized in the past – “must now ‘ set you free’ to help.”

Whitmer added that she hopes that as a result of the dire situation, the state and federal government will be able to work quickly and cut through any red tape holding it up.

Whitmer said it was hard to believe that Michigande­rs were in the midst of a 100- year crisis, a global pandemic, and also dealing with catastroph­ic flooding.

“But, you know what?” she added, “Here’s what I know: When the chips are down, the people of Michigan are able to rise up. We’re tough. We’re smart, and we care about each other.”

 ?? KELLY JORDAN AND JUNFU HAN/ USA TODAY NETWORK ?? Two dams failed after days of rain, flooding Midland, Mich.
KELLY JORDAN AND JUNFU HAN/ USA TODAY NETWORK Two dams failed after days of rain, flooding Midland, Mich.
 ?? KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/ USA TODAY NETWORK ?? Volunteers gather donations and make beds for people who had to evacuate because of record- setting flooding.
KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/ USA TODAY NETWORK Volunteers gather donations and make beds for people who had to evacuate because of record- setting flooding.
 ?? KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/ USA TODAY NETWORK ?? Community volunteers talk to evacuated residents and gather donations in Midland, Mich., after the Edenville and Sanford dams failed, flooding the area. No deaths were reported.
KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/ USA TODAY NETWORK Community volunteers talk to evacuated residents and gather donations in Midland, Mich., after the Edenville and Sanford dams failed, flooding the area. No deaths were reported.
 ??  ?? Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday surveys the shelter set up at Midland High School after floods forced residents to evacuate. STATE OF MICHIGAN
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday surveys the shelter set up at Midland High School after floods forced residents to evacuate. STATE OF MICHIGAN

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