Ashman Road Level by Charles Bonham

Four years ago the city of Midland and surrounding area was inundated by a 500-year flood. I thought this story by Anna Clark in Belt Magazine about the experience of the Director of the Grace Dow Library in Midland when the dams broke was an interesting angle through which to view this devastating event.

The failure of the dams was the end result of years of deferred maintenance, negligence, and federal and state regulation unable to prevent a life-changing deluge. It threatened public safety, homes, senior residences, schools, and businesses, all of which were already vulnerable from the coronavirus pandemic.

Charles took this photo in downtown Midland right the day after the flood on May 20th. You can see lots more in his Midland, Sanford & Edenville MI Flood of June 2020 gallery on Flickr!