Before-and-after satellite images of flooding in Midland County show water's destruction

May 22--Satellite images -- taken from space nearly a year apart from each other -- show just how devastating the flood damage is in Midland County.

The record flooding this week destroyed homes, cars, roads, bridges and other property; damaged the sewer system, and forced 10,000 people to evacuate the area along the river, leaving many homeless and without electricity.

The natural-color images from Landsat 8, an American Earth observation satellite, depict the two mid-Michigan dams -- Edenville and Sanford -- that failed and the Tittabawassee River.

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The dams are both owned by Boyce Hydro Power.

News reports say that at one point, nearly 374,000 gallons -- about half the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool -- per second were rushing through the Edenville Dam.

At the same time, the dam breach drained Wixom Lake, the reservoir.

It's unclear whether the Sanford Dam also breached but it also failed to hold floodwaters back.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who visited and flew over the area Wednesday, acknowledged that Michiganders are living through tough times, but need to remain vigilant -- and helpful -- especially during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

"If you know someone who has been impacted, please reach out," she said, referring especially to the mid-Michigan residents whose lives had been turned upside down. "This is truly a crisis in the middle of a crisis."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].

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