The US state suffered a dam failure disaster amid Covid-19 3
Along Main Street in downtown Midland, Michigan, people gathered on the banks of the Tittabawassee River, looking at the rushing floodwaters in despair.
For many people, including Jeff De Vaney, owner of the food store Amazing Deli, the scene was excruciatingly painful.
All plans fell apart when the floods came.
A bridge collapsed due to floodwaters caused by the breach of the Edenville Dam in Midland, Michigan, on May 20.
Michigan, one of the states most seriously affected by Covid-19 with nearly 53,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths, continued to be devastated when two privately owned dams broke on the night of May 19 after several days.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who has been at odds with Republicans over the Covid-19 response, understands that she is in a more complicated situation than at any time.
`It’s hard to believe that we are facing the most severe health crisis in 100 years, while also fighting arguably the worst flood in 500 years,` Ms. Whitmer said.
For years, federal regulators have warned of the risk of a dam failure near the town of Edenville.
On the night of May 19, the Edenville Dam burst, causing floodwaters to flood into the city, sweeping through many homes and businesses and threatening the Dow Chemical Company, a plastics manufacturer located near the Tittabawassee River.
Floodwaters rose so high that no stopping signs were almost invisible in the center of Midland, a city of 42,000 people.
Ms. Whitmer declared a state of emergency in Midland County and said she would call for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Midland’s farmers market located on the banks of the Tittabawassee River was flooded, while floodwaters began to crawl under the pedestrian bridge across the river.
`It’s a disaster. It just makes things worse when it occurs as Covid-19 is wreaking havoc here and many small business owners are looking for ways to get through this health crisis,` Sue Baranski, who
People were evacuated to a temporary shelter at Midland High School, Michigan, on May 20.
Dow said floodwaters had reached the chemical company’s storage tanks but insisted it did not pose any threat to the environment or the health of people in the area.
As one of the world’s largest chemical companies with revenue of $43 billion in 2019, Dow has more than 4,000 employees working at its headquarters and manufacturing sites in Midland.
State officials said severe flooding caused by the dam failure forced about 10,000 people to be evacuated to temporary shelters at Midland High School.
Dot Costello, 101, had to sleep in a hammock at a temporary shelter, after buses arrived to evacuate them from their apartment complex to avoid flooding.
Steve Blackhurst, 64, said when he woke up on the morning of May 20, he found his yard was flooded and floodwater had entered the ground floor windows.
`They had to come by boat to rescue me. You just have to try to get through it and make sure you’re still alive. I won’t be able to drink my favorite glass of Scotch before going to bed tonight,` he said.
Brad Kaye, Midland city manager, said the damage caused by the flood was severe as the first floor of the Grace A. Dow Memorial library was flooded and 42 sewer pump stations were unable to operate, amid concerns about
`We still record cases of nCoV infection and the virus did not magically disappear because of this flood,` he said.
Many people in Midland are angry and frustrated that failures by operators of the two dams led to the incident requiring a costly and extensive remediation process.
Dam failure in the US caused the worst flooding in 500 years
Dam failure caused serious flooding in Midland city, Michigan on May 20.
According to data from the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Edenville and Sanford dams are in the highest risk category, along with 300 other dams in the state of Michigan.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) revoked the license of Boyce Hydro, the operator of the Edenville dam, in 2018 for failing to implement safety measures to prevent flooding.
According to federal documents, Boyce Hydro has insisted there is little chance of a catastrophic flood related to this dam.
Boyce Hydro declined to respond to a request for comment.
Nick Assendelft, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of the Environment, said inspections in October 2018 found the dam’s structural condition was good, but there were concerns about the spillway’s capacity.
