By Michael Piwowarski and Marta Manning
 |  |
June 10, 2020
MIDLAND, Mich. — “It’s our reality.”
Katelyn Corrion, who lives on Walden Woods Drive, sat in the parking lot at Calvary Baptist Church, where Samaritan’s Purse is set up to aid flood victims in their cleanup efforts. She recalled being at work as the disaster unfolded. After the Edenville Dam broke, she and the others were told to evacuate.
“At first we thought it was a joke because we live so far away from Sanford that we didn’t think we were going to get impacted,” Ms. Corrion told the City Paper.
She went to a friend’s house across town, and then the next morning, the family went to their house on the flooded street by kayak.
“When we got in the basement, there was only a couple inches down there, but our neighbors got feet, and so we were very blessed that we were fortunate more than our neighbors,” Ms. Corrion told the City Paper.
Not only is Ms. Corrion and her family working on getting their basement cleared out, sanitized and rebuilt, they are also helping out their neighbors who are in the same … boat.
“A lot of people are driving around just taking photos and it’s kind of discouraging, because people need help,” Ms. Corrion told the City Paper.
People have stepped up to help, dropping off food, cleaning products and other supplies for the flood victims. Some neighbors even stayed rather than evacuate, so that they could check people’s homes.
“We’re just trying to make sure we get their houses clean, so mold and stuff doesn’t happen, because a lot of the basements are filled with sewage,” Ms. Corrion told the City Paper.
As for insurance, that has been difficult for Ms. Corrion and many other people she knows.
“I used to live out near Sanford, so I know a lot of people out there and some of our friends are not getting flood insurance or not getting money from their flood insurance, because technically it wasn’t a flood; it was a dam failure,” Ms. Corrion told the City Paper.
This report was made possible through the donations of the following individuals:
MATTHEW FELAN
JIMMY E. GREENE
MICHAEL WESTENDORF
NICK BYARD
LAURA S. PIWOWARSKI
DOUG CELLINI
MATT SHOFFNER
BRIAN H. JEAN
Please read our Editorial Independence policy to see how our donors never influence our journalism.
Joanne Sievewright and her husband were in their condo near Northwood University when the imminent danger came crashing in.
“So many of us were home riding it out. We heard the dam broke, my husband and I sprang into action. I grabbed my cochlear implant backpack and loaded it with all my implant materials. My husband grabbed a small suitcase so we each had a small amount of clothes to last us a few days. We put it on the stairs to go up to the loft,” Ms. Sievewright told the City Paper.
When they tried to get a few more things, including medical paperwork and a laptop, the firemen had arrived. Ms. Sievewright and her husband were told to evacuate, so they grabbed their most important items and left.
“The County Connection bus came and got one load of us,” Ms. Sievewright recalled. “We sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to our neighbor on the bus. This [we will] never forget.”
Ms. Sievewright is amazed with the amount of emergency vehicles that went into the flooding danger zone to help people who were stuck.
When she and her husband finally made it to the Midland High School shelter, they were picked up by a son-in-law and taken to his place in Saginaw, just before a section of Gratiot Road was closed off.
When they got home to retrieve what they could, they had a completely flooded basement and three to four feet of flooding on the main level. Damage in her neighborhood was so bad that some buildings were already condemned.
“We salvaged very little as it took so long for the water to recede. So the devastation is real and it’s bad. We lost a lot. We needed to get things out fast as the moisture was starting to ruin the stuff that didn’t get wet. Our place was sitting in water for quite a few days before we could come back,” Ms. Sievewright told the City Paper.
Her condo association has insurance that covers the outside structure. Both of her vehicles, which got towed out, also have insurance coverage.
“We are hoping that FEMA comes through. We live with so many elderly in our neighborhood; we are one of the younger ones. They are done. We are done. We are all tired. The tow truck driver has never seen anything like this. It is truly a disaster zone. We wait for answers,” Ms. Sievewright told the City Paper.
This added to what was already shaping up to be a rough year for Ms. Sievewright, who had to get cochlear implant surgery in February due to increased hearing loss, and activation in March. Then came the shutdown of non-essential business due to COVID-19.
Still, both family members and church volunteers came to offer help for her neighborhood.
“They were just amazing! They were from all over. Even as far as Indiana in the group that helped us. The neighbors are for emotional support, the talking about it, the sharing of food and water and just so much more,” Ms. Sievewright told the City Paper.
Now, she and her husband live in the basement of a relative’s house, returning to their condo daily to get stuff onto the road. As of the day the City Paper spoke with her—May 26—they still had a long way to go.
“I will be fine. I am just so tired and exhausted, but I will be fine. So many people with so many issues. My heart goes out to them,” Ms. Sievewright told the City Paper. “This is never going to be forgotten.”
A sense of community and shared purpose was palpable on Jeffrey Lane on Memorial Day as groups of neighbors and helpers gathered to have lunch outside together, sitting on grass, surrounded by piles of discarded furniture and belongings.
Swartz Creek native Steve White traveled to Midland to bring a free Memorial Day lunch to homeowners cleaning up flood damage in the neighborhood near Woodcrest Elementary School. The ‘Taste and See Catering’ owner told the City Paper he knew he had to contribute to the aid effort after seeing photos of Midland flood damage online.
Mr. White brought a five-person team, including his two sons, to distribute a meal featuring BBQ pork to homeowners working hard to remove belongings from flooded areas in their homes. Many homes in the area neighboring Sturgeon Creek experienced flooding up to the first floor, with some homes sustaining structural damage.
Jeffrey Lane resident Tom Gray told the City Paper he is impressed by how much help Midland residents affected by the flood are receiving from the community. Although flooding hit his neighborhood hard, Mr. Gray experienced an outpouring of help from friends and family, especially after his wife broke her wrist while cleaning up flood damage in their home.
A team from Farmer’s Insurance in Frankenmuth rallied together, bringing powerful pumps to Midland to remove water from Mr. Gray’s home and three neighboring houses. Mr. Gray’s former elementary school lacrosse trainee, now grown, got in touch with the couple after years of no contact to see if they needed help removing debris from their lawn. Help arrived from as far as Texas when a friend sent Tropical Smoothie lunch trays for the neighborhood.
“There’s still three months of work to do on the house,” Mr. Gray told the City Paper. “But thanks to everyone’s help, I can live in it.”
Residents affected by the flood are anxiously awaiting FEMA assistance as they find themselves with insufficient flood insurance or no flood coverage at all. However, the path towards getting aid from FEMA may prove complicated for homeowners.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA Region V Public Information Officer Sandy Jasmund told the City Paper that FEMA aid for homeowners was dependent on the State of Michigan filing for a disaster declaration. The current emergency declaration only covers funding for emergency protective measures and for conducting assessments.
FEMA inspectors will be working in Midland County in the coming weeks to conduct preliminary damage assessments and gather information from homeowners. The agency will compile the data and present it to the State of Michigan. It is then up to the State to ask the federal government for a disaster declaration.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on June 8 that “within the next week” she will formally request a Major Disaster Declaration for Impacted Areas from President Donald J. Trump.
“This is something that is a very intensive process, where all of the information has to be collected in support of that request,” Ms. Whitmer said, “We want it to be granted, and so we got to get it right, and we’re moving quickly.”
“If a declaration is approved and a resident registers with FEMA for assistance, a home inspection is conducted,” Ms. Jasmund told the City Paper. “During this virtual PDA type of situation with Covid, the inspection may be done through self-assessments using photographs, receipts for repairs and other documentation.”
Ms. Jasmund emphasized that FEMA will not duplicate damage reimbursements covered by insurance.
“FEMA will need to see insurance documents and the amount of damage covered by insurance,” she told the City Paper. “If there are other eligible expenses due to the flood damage, FEMA will review all the documents and explain what is eligible to the resident and the amount FEMA will cover.”
This report was made possible with a grant from M.R. Electric Construction, Inc.
Please read our Editorial Independence policy to see how our sponsors never influence our journalism.
The FEMA spokesperson advised homeowners to take detailed photos of the damage and the cleanup process, to clean up damage as soon as possible, and get in touch with their insurance companies first.
State Farm Insurance agent Scott MacGregor, in Midland, told the City Paper that insurance claims resulting from the dam failures are treated in the same way as flood claims in general.
“FEMA does not differentiate water from a flooded river or major rain storm vs. water from a broken dam,” he said. “Both are categorized the same.”
Mr. MacGregor said his firm is seeing two main types of coverage among insured Midland residents. Some homeowners purchased an independent flood policy from NFIP/FEMA, which is “a separately purchased policy, totally different from standard home insurance.”
Other clients opted to add a rider called ‘back up of sewer and drain’ to their homeowners insurance.
“This covers for damage caused by water coming into the home through drains or sump pump crocks,” MacGregor explained. “This is typically an added rider, and I have seen different companies offer different levels of protection. State Farm has one of the highest limits available for back up of sewer and drain. I have a client who has chosen $80,000 in back up coverage.”
He noted State Farm’s comprehensive auto insurance policy covers flood damage in the same way it would cover “repairs for hitting a deer, or hail.”
According to Mr. MacGregor, the majority of Midland homeowners do not have flood insurance. “A fairly small portion of my clients have NFIP/FEMA policies,” he said. “If a home is in the flood plain, and the mortgage company requires flood insurance, people buy it. But many of those clients cancel the FEMA policy as soon as the mortgage is paid off. We recommend clients keep the flood policy, but with an average premium of $2,000, many have chosen to go without.”
Midland County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mark Bone said that only about 8 percent of the homes affected by the flood had insurance coverage.
“Most people that got flooded by this, did not—they weren’t in a flood zone, so they lost their homes and we’re taking calls every day about how we make this right with them and we’re trying to figure that out,” Mr. Bone — who also owns Bone & Bailey Insurance Agency — said.
Homeowners with insurance coverage and approved claims may need to wait for several months before getting a reimbursement from insurance.
“Most insurance policies have a 24 month window for claim reimbursement,” Mr. MacGregor, the State Farm agent, told the City Paper.
At a community meeting organized by Councilman Steve Arnosky (Ward 3) outside Woodcrest Elementary School weeks after the flood event, Sturgeon Creek area homeowners expressed anger and disappointment at the way the City of Midland, the State of Michigan, and FEMA are handling the issue of flood damage reimbursement. The residents related feeling abandoned, overwhelmed by the damage, stuck in an impasse of insurance and FEMA denials. Many were still unable to return to their homes after two weeks of exhausting cleanup and demolition work.
City leaders assembled the June 3 meeting to discuss management of flood damage in the neighborhood encompassing Valorie Lane, St. Marys Drive, Gibson Street, and Joanne Street. Mr. Arnosky, along with City Manager C. Bradley Kaye and Director of Planning & Community Development Grant Murschel, fielded questions and concerns from homeowners with property in the 100-year floodplain region.
“Where is FEMA in all this,” one attendee called out. “In 2017, they were going door to door handing out checks, but where are they now?”
The crowd reacted with disapproval when Mr. Murschel reported that FEMA is treating the flood as a natural event rather than a mechanical failure, and is only now beginning to evaluate affected homes to make recommendations to the State for a disaster declaration.
Messrs. Murschel and Arnosky described options for homeowners experiencing damage totaling more than 50 percent of the home’s value: raising the home if its first floor is below base flood level, filling in the basement if the first floor lies above base flood level, and a potential home buyback program in the future. The city officials gave residents several options for appraising the value of flood damage.
Homeowners raised numerous questions regarding the programs and their limitations.
“I have a brick home that would be impossible to raise,” one resident said. “What am I supposed to do?”
It is also currently unclear where the money for some of the programs would come from. Mr. Kaye reported Midland faces a challenging path forward with raising money for the city contribution for any future home buyback since tax money “can’t be used.”
Several residents voiced a need for increased interactions between homeowners, City officials, and FEMA personnel to help guide homeowners through the complicated process of recovering at least a fraction of what they once owned.