Michigan floods leave thousands homeless

Written by Angella Semu

About 10,000 people have been forced to evacuate in central Michigan following collapsing of Edenville and Sanford dams leaving the city under 9 feet of water following days of heavy rain.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County in mid-Michigan on Tuesday.

Whitmer beseeched residents threatened by the flooding to find a place to stay with friends or relatives or to seek out one of several shelters that have been opened across the county.

BBC report revealed that the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency in areas near the Tittabawassee River which rose from 30.5 feet to 34.4 feet as a result of the Edenville and Sanford dams failure.

The current water height, 34.4 feet, has set a new record for the river after beating the previous record of 33.9 feet set during flooding in 1986.

Residents have also been advised to wear a face covering and observe social distancing while evacuating to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and meanwhile the Michigan National Guard is assisting in the response to the floods.

US President Donald Trump is expected to visit Michigan on Thursday 21, May 2020.

Maneno Chimulala

I am a journalist, educator, and activist with passion for telling stories about social justice, sports and political issues. I graduated from Mzuzu University. I started my career at the Maravi Post online publication in 2012 as an intern while in college. Upon graduating from Mzuzu University I was offered a job as Sports Reporter because of my background as a goalkeeper and rose to the position of sub editor. I also had a short stint with Nyasatimes, Malawi Punch and Malawi Digest. Over the past seven years, I have worked intimately with rural organizations and communities in Malawi on human rights, girl child education and grassroots development projects. With an academic background in education, I also volunteer as male champion for girls’ education under Girls Empowerment Networks (GENET) in Malawi’s South West Education Division (SWED).