2013 Michigan Flooding Dangers

ProfessorPotSnob

ProfessorPotSnob

New Member
:-( Hope everyone here is High and Dry (no pun intended ) , many people are facing hard times in areas of Michigan , thought I would start a thread to collect data and talk .. It seems like a sign of the times as the records have been broken this year and the dangers are currently building by the moment .. Stay safe if your in the flood zones .
 
ProfessorPotSnob

ProfessorPotSnob

New Member
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/04/flood_warnings_upgraded_for_ma.html

[h=1]Flood warnings upgraded for many rivers in West Michigan as severe weather approaches[/h]
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(Gallery by Sally Finneran | [email protected])

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By Aaron Aupperlee | [email][email protected][/email]
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on April 17, 2013 at 10:09 PM










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National Weather Service​
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The National Weather Service has upgraded flood warnings for many rivers flowing through West Michigan.

A band of intense thunderstorms passed through the region Wednesday evening and more severe weather is on the way, according to forecasts. The rain is expected to persist through Friday.


More than 4 inches is possible, the weather service is predicting.


CLICK HERE for map showing flood risks


Flooding has already started along the Grand River, the Thornapple River and the Rogue River. On Wednesday night, the weather service upgraded the flooding of the Grand River through Comstock Park from moderate to record severity. At 8:38 p.m., the Grand River through Comstock Park was 2.2 feet above flood stage. Flooding in Robinson Township has been upgraded from minor to moderate.


During the band of thunderstorms that passed through Wednesday evening, 47 mph winds were reported at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Large hail was reported in Kentwood, according to the weather service.


Neighbors reported lightning striking a house in Belmont and sparking a fire in the garage.


Flooding closed streets at Division Avenue and 28th Street SE. Three cars were stuck in high water under the railroad bridge across Division.


"They have to do something with these drains," said Arylnn Salefske.


She typically takes Division home but was looking for an alternate route Wednesday night. Salefske is used to the inconvience. She said the area floods every time there is heavy rain.


Many people stopped at Division and 28th to gawk at the stranded cars. Photos of the cars made the rounds on Facebook, which was where Paige and Lexus Lewis saw them. The sisters decided to drive down and take a look for themselves.


"I've lived here for 14 years and I've never seen this," Paige Lewis said.


She wondered why anyone would try to drive through the high water.



 
ProfessorPotSnob

ProfessorPotSnob

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DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - The American Red Cross has been responding to flooding situations throughout the state — due to the heavy rains. Over 130 volunteers are working around the clock to prepare shelters and plan for weather related incidents this weekend.
Michigan’s already overflowing rivers kept rising as a wave of severe thunderstorms pushed through the state Thursday, forcing some people to evacuate and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses. CBS 62 Chief Meteorologist Jim Madaus said water levels could keep rising as up to four inches of rain fall on parts of the state through Friday.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Lower Rouge River in Inkster and Dearborn; the Rouge River in Detroit; and the Clinton River in Sterling Heights and Clinton Township. These flood warnings are in effect until further notice.
As of 1 p.m., the counties of Midland, Osceola, Ottawa and Newaygo each declared a local state of emergency due to storms and severe flooding.
Locally, we’ve missed the worst it, said Alison Koenigbauer, with the Red Cross Southeast Michigan Region.
“Right now what we’re doing is we’re monitoring the rivers that we see that could climb — the River Raisin in Monroe Coutny and in Lenewee County, the Huron River in Washtenaw County,” Koenigbauer said. “We’re monitoring those to make sure that they stay where they’re at and don’t rise.
“And if they do, we’re prepared to help the communities if there is flooding,” she said.

The Red Cross has opened up eight shelters in the communities of Grand Rapids and Midland, hardest hit by the flooding.
The weather service says the Rouge River and Clinton River will be above flood stage early Friday morning and will crest Friday evening. The Rouge River is expected to reach about 2 feet above flood range, while the Clinton River is expected to reach about 1.5 feet above flood range.
The flooding is even more serious on the west side of the state. In the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming, Mayor Jack Poll declared a state of emergency Thursday and officials issued an evacuation order for some areas. The city called in available police, firefighters and public works employees and is making sand bags and sand available.
Workers were using inflatable boats to rescue some people living along the Buck Creek, a Grand River tributary. In Grand Rapids, five children were carried from a stalled vehicle through a flooded West Michigan street.
The Grand River is expected to crest Monday about six feet over flood stage, or when the river first tops its banks, in the Grand Rapids area on Monday. The water was 3.1 feet above flood stage Thursday at Comstock Park and 2.2 feet above in Ottawa County’s Robinson Township, according to the National Weather Service.
The Saginaw River was 2.8 feet above flood stage Thursday and expected to crest 5.8 feet over the weekend, while the Pine River was 2.1 feet over flood stage at Alma.
About 70,000 DTE Energy Co. customers lost power after severe thunderstorms rolled through the area Thursday, mostly in Oakland and Washtenaw counties. By Friday morning, about 19,000 remained without power. (Latest on the outages here).
Winds could cause more outages later Friday. A wind advisory has been issued for the metro Detroit region, in effect until 10 p.m. Madaus said there will be sustained winds at 25 to 30 mph from the west-southwest, with gusts between 40 and 50 mph.
 
bowlfullofbliss

bowlfullofbliss

Well-Known Member
ProfessorPotSnob said:
:-( Hope everyone here is High and Dry (no pun intended ) , many people are facing hard times in areas of Michigan , thought I would start a thread to collect data and talk .. It seems like a sign of the times as the records have been broken this year and the dangers are currently building by the moment .. Stay safe if your in the flood zones .
Click to expand...
I'm a little surprised the area you and I are from isn't under water yet..........the Huron is real high south of the dam..I haven't seen it up at Ore Lk, and no warning issued as of yet, which is strange. Maybe they gave up and just figure we know by now the flood comes with each heavy rain.
 
V

VaporTrail

Active Member
PPS, I drove up to Manistee yesterday morning I-96 to US 31 The Grand River was high and really movin. Got to the Muskegon River it looked like it was 5 miles wide water everywhere. P. Marquette was rushing and high in Ludington. Shit every river was busting loose.:shock:
 
ProfessorPotSnob

ProfessorPotSnob

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[h=1]Flood walls 'will protect us' in Grand Rapids, but city spends $500,000 just in case[/h]


Mayor Heartwell: Flooding not a state of emergency, free sandbags available for publicGrand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell talks about flooding Friday, April 19, 2013. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)

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By Matt Vande Bunte | [email][email protected][/email]
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on April 19, 2013 at 3:57 PM, updated April 19, 2013 at 4:16 PM










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EnlargeJosh Loewel, left, and Robert Howell of the U.S. Geological Survey lower a "boat" to monitor water volume into the Grand River from the Pearl St. bridge in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich. Friday, April 19, 2013. (Chris Clark | MLive.com)High water and sandbags along Grand River April 19, 2013 gallery (21 photos)








GRAND RAPIDS, MI – City officials are less concerned about the prospect of the Grand River breaching flood walls, now that National Weather Service projections of water levels for the weekend have been lowered a bit. Still, the city continues to take preventive measures costing an estimated $500,000.That includes removal of $3 million in backup equipment from the city’s sewage plant and purchase of sand bags that Grand Rapids workers andvolunteers are busy today placing around the plant and elsewhere along the river.
“We’re still going to build it up because (the water-level projection) can go up as quick as it went down,” said Mike Lunn, the city’s environmental services director.
Mayor George Heartwell at a Friday, April 19, press conference in City Hall expressed confidence that rising river waters – now above 20 feet - will not exceed the city’s flood walls. The predicted high-water mark is now 23.3 feet, about two feet below a 100-year flood level. The flood walls are about a foot above the 100-year flood level, he said.
“We fully expect that our flood walls will protect us from flooding from the river,” Heartwell said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t have some pretty significant flooding issues around the city.”
Grand Rapids evacuated a Southeast Side apartment complex Thursday night and is monitoring other areas closely, though no additional evacuation plans are imminent, Heartwell said. Nor does the mayor plan to declare a state of emergency, stating that “the city is responding very, very well to this crisis that we’re in.”
“Between city staff and an enormous amount of volunteers, we have no fear of running out of resources, either human or financial resources," Heartwell said. "We don’t see the eventuality in which we would have to declare a state of emergency.”
Grand Rapids officials on Thursday expressed concern that the river could flood the sewage plant on Market Avenue SW, near the Gerald R. Ford Freeway. The city has removed some equipment from the plant and is encircling it with a variety of sand bags, including some called “burrito” bags. Heartwell said the city is “absolutely prepared” to prevent flooding of the plant.
But those precautions comes with “costs that we would not have ordinarily” incurred, City Manager Greg Sundstrom said.
Sundstrom asked residents to have patience as city workers deal with existing flooding caused by rains that have overwhelmed the storm sewer system.
“This is really quite a confluence of bad things happening to our city all at once,” he said. “I’m very heartened at how many people are asking how they can help. We have a lot of people working around the clock right now and we will take care of this.”
Heartwell plans to hold press conferences at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at City Hall for flooding updates. You can watch the conferences and get city flooding updates here

 
ProfessorPotSnob

ProfessorPotSnob

New Member
VaporTrail said:
PPS, I drove up to Manistee yesterday morning I-96 to US 31 The Grand River was high and really movin. Got to the Muskegon River it looked like it was 5 miles wide water everywhere. P. Marquette was rushing and high in Ludington. Shit every river was busting loose.:shock:
Click to expand...
Nice road trip heading up the coast . Was thinking of going there myself to visit home . Manistee seems to have alot of erosion due to heavy rains .
Thanks for the report , suppose to hit highest levels by monday ? We will see
 
V

VaporTrail

Active Member
The Lakes need the water which I'm glad for, but just wish we didnt get all the rain and snow melt at the same time.
 
V

VaporTrail

Active Member
Things will get better Huel. If ya need some meds I will be harvesting here soon as well and would be more then happy to help out.:peace:
 
djwimbo

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
My area is definitely seeing issues from the floods, but I haven't had any real issues yet. Both of the major roads that I use to go to and from work were blocked off Thurs/Fri though, so my 15-20min drive home took 35-40.

Thursday I went down to Dorr/Hopkins area to pick up my grandpa's truck from storage (he's a snow bird) and every road I needed was 8-10" under water. I think it was 28th St(Dorr) between 142nd and 138th, but I drove through like a 1/4mi of high water. I'm not posting the video, but I was in 2nd gear holding 1700rpm for over a minute and a half just trudging through the water... the F250SD didn't sweat as much, it's twice as heavy. I know on 28th I lost sight of the painted lines for most of the time I was driving through the water.
 
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