Lieutenant Governor Brain Calley on Friday declared a state of disaster in two counties after heavy rains flooded the city overnight. Lt. Governor said that it was "extraordinary flooding and resulting damage."
The declaration made state resource available to help local response and recovery efforts in Isabella and Midland counties, where hundreds of homes, business were affected by flooding.
Officials declared a state of emergency on early Friday in Isabella County, as helicopters and drones took to the air to assess the damage.
Other Michigan residents were warned about unnecessary travel due to flooded roads and streets.
The Michigan’s Emergency Operations Center has been activated since then in Isabella and Midland Counties.
In Isabella, nearly 90 roads have been closed, but fortunately, no injuries were reported.
"It's probably some of the worst we've experienced in years," said Tony Casali, Isabella County Road Commission manager, who called the flooding "extreme."
Residents of Isabella have been advised to stay off county roads for at least 24 hours. Police officers were spotted using SUVs instead of patrol cars to navigate the situation.
In Mount Pleasant, several vehicles were stuck in flooded parking lots after 6 inches of rain fell in some areas.
The Midland County Sheriff’s office said that water was still so deep enough on Friday morning that some that vehicles were getting stuck.
The Red Cross opened an evacuation center at Lee Township Hall. And a flood warning was in effect for Tittabawassee River after the area got 4 to 7 inches of rain.
Warnings of floods were also issued in Gladwin, Isabella, Mecosta, and Montcalm counties.
Forecast experts predicted that the Chippewa River could peak on late Friday at more than 13 feet. The river's flood state is 8 feet.
High winds, thunderstorms on Thursday night and early Friday knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses, mostly in Monroe, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties.
More than 74,000 homes were recovered from electricity outage out of roughly 89,000 customers who lost it, DTE Energy said.
The utility said the storms caused tree limbs to snap and more than 300 power lines to fall.
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