The dams upstream of where I live have been breached.
Over the next 48 hours, the entire contents of Wixom lk, Sanford lake, Smallwood lake, and potentially Secord lake, will be boiling past, 2 miles from my front door.

Think 500 year flood.

It's quite odd imagining a giant bulge of water enroute to your town. Your door step.

I have about 8 ft of freeboard at present, and am 2.5 miles straight back from the Saginaw river.

Check out the flood on Midland county 911 for videos of the collapsing dams.

I'm parking a boat next to the house, and moving some contents upstairs.

It's kinda cool sorting "save/abandon" when the weather is nice, and things are dry.

I saw the videos a little while ago. It is horrific.

I wish you the best of luck. you don't have much time.

Very best of luck to you and your neighbors. Scary for sure.

I'm concerned about a pal of mine who lives southwest of Midland.

According to Google Earth, he will remain above predicted 'worst case' crest heights but I'm not so sure.

Apparently, these dams have been a known hazard for at least a decade.

This is a societal failure. The dams are privately owned, and the regulators are powerless to enforce the needed repairs. It's been in court, and the dams 'were' in the process of being sold to a public interest group who could afford the necessary repairs via our wonderful 'grant' system.

Cries of socialism, yet the sale price of the electricity generated by the powerhouses is regulated. The private company can't afford to maintain their old and crumbling dams.

Remarkable that critical infrastructure is allowed to get to the failure point by such a flawed system.

Be safe CZ. Hope you don't have to bug out, but it does not look good.

Best of luck to you CZ.....last year flooding was horrendous in my area....I thanked the Lord many times that I live on a bluff at least 40-50 feet above the river below.

Good luck, CZ. We did the flood-hustle last spring. Guns first, then the art.

Stay safe CZ, it sounds too close for comfort.

I have hunted grouse near there years past. Hope the ground nests don't get wiped out.

I’m hopeful the people don't get wiped out.

Good luck. You are going to need it. Floods might be the worst.

Best,
Ted

Nothing more miserable than sorting through a flooded house. I've had river shacks and houses on the Gulf of Mexico flooded. Cleanup is nasty. Stay safe!...Geo

So to give a quick update on the flood in front of my house.

It’s about 2 foot deep, and the Spawning Buffalo, are in there thick.

Obviously the fish don’t care about the impending flood.

I’ll check my elevation studies one more time, and look at the counties projections I’m good So far, because my home is 35’ tall.
2nd Floor is 12 ft above the first, and the 3rd 11’ above that.

The first floor valued items are on 2nd floor now. Wife has taken walk around videos of every room for current inventory.

We have too much stuff.

Living in a museum sucks if you are pre preparing for a flood.

My Dad spent 22 years living out of a sea bag. After 8 years as a reservist, two moves, two wives, two kids and a house later, he remarked that he wished he had never stopped.

After he died, I wished he hadn’t, either.

Hope things end up mostly dry.

Best,
Ted

CZ,
I hear that downtown Coleman is 9 feet under water, and Midland is threatened as well. Eis is headed up to his hunt camp to check on it's condition. Hoping you make it through all this.
Karl

I should be fine.
My home is made of stone, and is 170 years old.
It's been wet before.
I figure they placed it here, because it was built before county flood control was invented.

But I'm not an idiot.
I have evac plans, and people lined up to help if required.

Check out this video footage upstream.
Wixom lake was 2000 acres and 40 ft deep.
Sayonara baby!

Oops bad link

Good luck and be safe. This will be the case in many states as a multitude of decades old, unmaintained private dams fail. Community associations refuse to repair or breach all of the ones on the private lakes around here. The Georgia Safe Dams Commission is toothless and does not enforce the statute.

Never buy lowlands for permanent habitation...

To prevent and protect, my view is that private services like garbage collection, street lights and snow removal from streets and sidewalks should be paid for by municipal taxes, and higher levels of governance have a responsibility to protect the public from disasters waiting to happen through proper regulation and public funding. Otherwise, civilization is marching backwards.

CZ I wish you the absolute BEST

Amarillo got 1/10 of an inch or rain last night and wow it sure
did make a difference

Mike

Already happening in many cases, including here in Iowa a few years ago.

But it's not just private infrastructure, nor just dams. Many other items can, will, and are falling apart. For instance, Minneapolis lost a bridge not too many years ago.

CZ, I was around the Red in Winnipeg for a 500 year flood. 40 times the normal annual flow. Created a lake in southern Manitoba 40 miles x 80 miles. 1997.....same flood nailed Grand Forks, ND.

Hope you get through this one. 4" is the difference been awe inspiring and disaster.

A bridge that would still be in place, except, somebody screwed up and used .500” plate
Instead of the 1” plate the designer specified to assemble the steel work.



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge

When a NTSB guy writes his doctoral thesis on why the bridge is going to fall, before it falls, you might want to listen to him.

Might not be the best example of “falling apart” infrastructure, Brent. “Way Big Infrastructure Screwup”, maybe.

Best,
Ted

CZ
Good luck, it looks like you have done all the prep work you have time for, I feel for those that are not so lucky. Once a dam is overtopped or a breach starts you can't stop it, there is just too much power behind it. It doesn't matter what you build, water is the most important single thing to worry about. Every dam should have a spillway, at a lower elevation than the top of the dam, to guard against overtopping. They still have to be inspected on a regular basis to give time for repair work to prevent breaches. Once a dam gives way, it will usually overcome the spillways of lower lakes. Always build your house on high ground.
Mike

I’m coming to the conclusion that only fools believe government takes responsibility for anything.

See “Flint, Michigan water supply”

Best,
Ted

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Y5J0ka4_k

_______________________________________________
Used to be a cool website called “Crumbling Detroit”
I think it crumbled.

You know you can't learn anything from an academic egghead. Regardless, bridges fall, dams break, buildings collapse. Its gonna get worse.

It helps to build it correctly to begin with.

Might want to keep an eye on urban renewal projects. Just a thought.


Best,
Ted

If I were you, I'd keep a closer eye on your local damns and bridges. Have you seen a recent evaluation of Minnesotas bridges? The review for Iowa was stunning. I hope Minnesota is much, much better.