Thunderstorm results in flooding throughout Mount Pleasant, closes university
Students living near Crapo Street displaced, areas of the city still underwater
Mount Pleasant residents are coping with closed streets, flooding and clearing storm debris after an early morning June 23 thunderstorm moved across Mid-Michigan.
Almost six inches of rain fell last night across Isabella and Midland counties. According to the National Weather Service, threats of storms and additional rainfall will continue throughout the weekend.
Mount Pleasant's director of the public safety Paul Lauria has been working with all other city departments to assess the damage caused by flooding.
"The city as a whole has been very busy in addressing the flooding," Lauria said. "We've been working with the Emergency Operations Center putting together an estimate of the extent of the damage. (We are) looking at potentially contacting the state for a declaration of emergency."
Several streets were impassible due to flooding, though water levels in most areas around the city receded significantly by noon. The area between Mission, Isabella, Preston and High streets experienced the most severe flooding, Lauria said.
The public safety department reported that several apartment complexes near Crapo Street have flooded, as well as and the area between Preston and Bellows streets. The public safety department is currently working with the Red Cross to assist the people living in those apartments, who are unable to return to their homes.
According to the National Weather Service there is a chance of showers predicted for Saturday, followed by a chance of thunderstorms and wind gusts as high as 24 miles per hour after 2 p.m. Thunderstorms are also possible after 2 p.m. on Sunday, with a 50 percent chance of precipitation.
Central Michigan University closed its Mount Pleasant locations on Friday due to flooding in multiple streets and buildings. Several university buildings were affected by stormwater, including the SAC, Dow Science Building, Rowe, Foust, Calkins, and Brooks halls. Conferences, camps and events will proceed as planned this weekend.
Jonathan Webb, associate vice president of facilities management, said the facilities management employees have been working closely with the CMU Police Department since they started to see flooding in the roads and buildings around midnight last night.
"With the amount of rain in the short period of time, we know the city storm sewer system filled pretty quickly," Webb said. "The water has to go somewhere. If it can't go anywhere else, it'll find its way into basements and low portions of the streets."
