Devastating Michigan Floods. North Carolina Is Next

One of the failed dams causing serious flooding in Michigan
yesterday and today. 

A big flood disaster has been unfolding in Michigan the past couple of days.

Torrential rains have hit the state since Saturday, and as the rains tapered off, the situation actually worsened.

The Associated Press reports that two dams on the Tittabawassee River in Midland County failed, and a flood crest was heading toward the city of Midland, population of about 41,000.

About 10,000 people have been evacuated.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned that downtown Midland could become submerged under nine feet of water. Midland is about 140 miles north of Detroit.

Another concern is that a Dow Chemical plant is in the path of the flood waters. So it's not good. Video is at the bottom of this post.

Some parts of Michigan received up to seven inches of rain over the past few days, causing flooding across much of the state. The heavy rain is also sure to cause some of the Great Lakes to rise further, exacerbating flooding, as the lakes are already at near record high levels.

One of the breached dams in Michigan, the Edenville Dam, was built in 1924. As of 2018, the state of Michign rated it as in unsatisfactory condition, according to clickondetroit.com.

Last November, an Associated Press investigation revealed that at least 1,680 dams in the United States are unstable enough to pose a risk to people downstream.

The actual number of such dams is higher than 1,680 because some states refused to release data to reporters, and a few states don't rate dams at all due to a lack of funding.

Now, as parts of Michigan floods, attention is turning to a huge risk of flooding today in North Carolina.

NOAA's Weather Prediction Center put western North Carolina in a relatively rare high risk zone for excessive rainfall today.

Around four inches of rain fell in that region yesterday, and another four inches or so is expected today.

Flooding, landslides and debris flows are all an almost certainty today in the mountainous region in the state.

The Weather Channel reported earlier this year that 41 percent of all U.S. flood deaths covered in one research project were on high risk excessive rain days, which are posted about 15 times per year.

Here's a quick video of Midland, Michigan from early this morning:



The scene around one of the failed dams on Tuesday: