[SML] Midland MI

[Dave Vick]

On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 3:24 PM Bill Conner via Stagecraft
<stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> Condolences to folks in that area. Double whammy with pandemic. Stay safe and well and God bless.

I'm about 90 minutes southwest of the affected area, and we're seeing
high water on the Grand and Red Cedar Rivers here in the Greater
Cupcake/East Cupcake Area too, although not as destructive as the
Tittabawassee River, and to a lesser extent the Saginaw River... All
rivers in southern lower Michigan are on the verge of overflowing
their banks...

We suffered a solid 8" of rainfall in under 18 hours this past sunday,
and the sudden flow caused two dams on the Tittabawassee to fail,
which resulted in a monster cascade throughout Midland County, most
especially through the cities of Midland and Bay City. The T is
expected to crest this evening - it may have already done so, as I
write this - at around 9' above Flood Stage, which equals a whopping
38'-0"(!!!) above the normal level of the river this time of year;
they're calling it a "500-year flood."

Most all of Midland is under 8'-9' of water, which bodes ill since
Midland is home to Dow Chemical, which has been tagged by the EPA as a
major polluter in the past... I'll let you all just ponder the
ramifications of nine feet of floodwaters in a major non-compliant
chemical factory, and the resulting effects on the Great Lakes
Watershed...

As if the pandemic stay-at-home orders weren't enough of a problem;
how ya gonna stay safe at home from COVID-19 if ya don't have a home
any more? Midland County is home to around 83,000 people, 42,000 of
which reside (or used to, anyway) in the City of Midland.  They are
well and truly screwed.

Ain't no facemask & lupus medicine gonna help with *this* little problem...
Mother Nature has *zero* sense of humor, it seems.

-- 
Dave Vick
517-749-3859
Yeah; *that* guy...