Eight inches of rainfall in late May 2020 caused two dams on the Titabawassee River in mid-Michigan to give way. Overnight, the city of Midland was flooded. While early warnings prevented any deaths from the dam breaks, the flooding caused huge amounts of damage, feared dioxin contamination, and debates over how the dams could have been kept in such ill repair.
Provided here is some of Michigan Radio’s coverage in the first 24 hours after the dams failed.
Reporter Tracy Samilton was on the ground in Midland and caught up with the Governor and visited emergency shelters during a pandemic. Michigan Radio’s environmental reporter covered the environmental impact of the flood waters cresting Dow Chemical’s storage basins, and Tracy Samilton also covered one of the effects of the broken dams, a completely empty lake. The audio provided here represents a significant portion of the first day coverage we provided at Michigan Radio on this breaking news story.
