MIDLAND, Mich. (FOX 2) - David Randall described a chaotic scene living on the Tittabawasee River with his house the closest to the failed Edenville Dam. On Tuesday he watched it burst.
"Sixty-foot trees going down, crashing into the bridge," he said. "Just the twisting and the snapping and there were swells that were shooting up. And then the bridges starting going, it was chaos, a big gas line burst down here, you could smell gas all over the place."
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Water continues to recede in mid-Michigan flooding but damage is done
Residents are still in shock but it will be days before the extent of the losses can be calculated.
The Sanford Dam also broke after too much rain resulting in two broken dams, massive flooding. Wixom Lake drained in two hours, leaving parts of Midland County underwater
"Mother nature is mother nature, it can be unpredictable," said Rogers Claussen.
Clawson is one of nine Rochester Hills firefighters in Midland transporting fuel by boat to the generators that are powering the pumping stations.
The year 1950 is the last time residents Bill and Mary Horning remember seeing flooding like this.
A natural disaster combined with a global pandemic has made things even more tenuous at the make-shift shelter at Midland High School.
"Of our 100 people about 90 percent plus are probably over the age of 80, so we have a very vulnerable population many of them with very special needs," said Jerry Wasserman.
Keeping them safe and healthy is the top priority with health care professionals now on site
"In less than 12 hours we got four to five fully staffed days of these health care professionals," Wasserman said.
While waters levels are starting to go down, authorities say it could take days to full assess the damage from the flooding.
"Coming through looking at all the devastation," Randall said. "We'll pick up the pieces."
President Donald Trump spoke with Governor Gretchen Whitmer and said he would tour the area with her, but no time was set for a visit.
"Let us send our love to all the families that have been displaced from the flood in Midland," Trump said during a visit at a Ford truck plant in Ypsilanti today. "Americans are praying for central Michigan. The governor and I had a great conversation this morning. We signed an emergency declaration very quickly."
Trump approved the Emergency Declaration for help from FEMA this morning.