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| BBC Flood Coverage |
Norma Boeckler's home is along the river, but above it. She has gone through a number of floods before. This is the worst one, started by the Edensville Dam, which was not maintained properly. That earthen dam failed completely and the Sanford Dam overflowed. Some say Sanford failed, but that is not clear. Those dams contributed to the highest flooding ever in the aftermath of heavy rains.
Norma phoned this morning to tell us about the evacuations and her staying with relatives. We were in Midland for the 1986 flood and know about subsequent floods that damaged her basement.
This has displaced thousands of people in the area and tremendous property damage. The Grace Dow Library, where Norma had a book signing, just completed a multi-million dollar renovation from the last flood. The basement is flooded again.
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| The strange construction in the foreground is called The Tridge. |
The area is quite flat overall, so many key locations are flooded or in danger of higher water:
- The Dow Chemical Plant and chemical storage areas;
- The Midland Hospital complex, which depends on a flood wall;
- Downtown Midland;
- Various churches, such as Holy Scripture, ELS, which was waist-deep in the sanctuary and the parsonage.
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| Water was waste-deep earlier today at Holy Scripture. Pastor and Mrs. Paul Schneider had to be rescued. Authorities predicted another 4 feet before the flood peaked. |
