Residents in Midland and Gladwin counties have been evacuated after flooding caused local rivers and at least two dams to overflow.
In Gladwin, officials say the Chappel Dam has already crested, but the county has not lifted evacuation orders along either the Cedar or Tittabawassee rivers.
Michael Rajt is Chair of the Wiggins Lake Level Authority which operates the Chappel Dam. He said the water levels have crested without spilling over the dam.
“Everyone along the Cedar river all the way down to Gladwin should be safe.”
Rajt said they are keeping an eye on water levels to see when they drop below the levels that caused them to issue evacuation orders.
Laura Brandon-Maveal is the Gladwin County Clerk. She said it is still not safe for residents to return.
“We’re maintaining and water levels are dropping. Certainly not safe for residents to return to their homes at this point.”
Brandon-Maveal said it has been difficult for the county to find shelters during a pandemic.
“We are working on some shelter opportunities but with the COVID pandemic we are figuring out new and better ways to allow that to happen without violating the stay at home order.”
It is not clear how much damage has been done to properties in the county. A helicopter flyover is expected in the next few days.
Jennifer Quick lives south of the Chapel Dam. She said the little creek running through her backyard is completely flooded.
“We’ve lived here for 23 years and this is probably 3 or 4 feet above what we’d typically see. We’ve had springs where it goes up... But not to this extent.”
Quick said so far the water hasn’t made it into her house. She said her neighbors haven’t been so lucky.
In Midland County, officials say the Tittabawassee River won’t crest until early Wednesday morning.
Residents in need of shelter are being directed towards nearby schools in Coleman and Meridian and being told they may be there a couple of days.
Brad Kaye is the Midland City Manager. He said the city is expecting a 30-foot river elevation - one of the highest levels the city has ever experienced.
Kaye said the city is watching dams upstream. If anything were to go wrong with those dams he said it would immediately trigger a disaster declaration.
“The effects of the flooding could be fairly catastrophic. Certainly beyond anything we’ve experienced here in the city in the past.”
So far, the Sanford, Edenville, and Smallwood dams upstream of the city have been overflowing but remain structurally sound.
“It’s unfortunate we seem to be having these large rain events and large floods on a much more frequent basis lately,” Kaye said. “I’ve been with the city for eight years and this is my fourth major flood during that short period of time.”
Kaye said he expects he is in for a long night.