The 2013 Grand Rapids flood lasted from April 12 to 25, 2013, affecting multiple areas in the

Grand Rapids metropolitan area The Grand Rapids metropolitan area is a triangular shaped Metro Triplex, in West Michigan, which fans out westward from the primary hub city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the other two metro hubs of Muskegon and Holland. The metropolitan area ...

. Sudden heavy rainfall, saturation of the ground from rainwater and the flow of tributaries caused the Grand River to rise dramatically, with the river cresting at in Grand Rapids on April 21, 2013. The flooding caused thousands of residents in the area to evacuate their homes.

Meteorology

In April 2013, heavy rain throughout the Midwest caused severe flooding in the region. In a period between April 8 and 15, Grand Rapids received of rain, while the upriver community of Comstock Park received about of rainfall. Within that period on April 13, the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

stated that floodwaters in Comstock Park rose from minor to moderate, with the

flood stage Flood stage is the water level or stage at which the surface of a body of water has risen to a sufficient level to cause sufficient inundation of areas that are not normally covered by water, causing an inconvenience or a threat to life and property ...

beginning at and that day's level at . On April 17, Grand Rapids received about of rain. Rainfall broke a 104-year-old record on April 18 with of rain falling by 9:30 a.m. EDT. On April 21, in Comstock Park, the Grand River crested at , above the flood level while in Grand Rapids, the river rose to , or above the flood level. A storm deemed "catastrophic" that had the potential to drop of rain had also barely missed the Grand Rapids area on the day that the water crested in the Grand River. Rain totals for the month of April were about .

Impact

On April 21, Mayor of Grand Rapids,

George Heartwell George Heartwell is an American politician. He was the mayor of the city of Grand Rapids in the U.S. state of Michigan. He was sworn in on January 1, 2004, and exited his mayoral duties after ending his third term on January 16, 2016. Education ...

, declared a state of emergency. Evacuations of homes were reported along with some reports about boat rescues from houses in the area. In Kent County, about 700 people were evacuated while 1,000 people alone were evacuated from the

Plaza Towers Plaza Towers is a mixed-use highrise building in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At , it was the tallest building in the city until the completion of the River House Condominiums in 2008. The building contains apartments on floors 8–14, individually ow ...

in downtown Grand Rapids. Some buildings in Grand Rapids near the riverfront had the Grand River's waterline go over their windows with some individuals able to see fish and ducks swim by through the windows. Flood walls and bridges in Grand Rapids caused some increased flooding in cities up and downstream from the Grand River since they impeded the flow of the river, causing water to stand and rise.

Wastewater treatment plant Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environmen ...

s in Grand Rapids, Grandville and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

had partially treated wastewater overflow from their facilities. The Grand Rapids wastewater plant had about of the partially treated water spill into the Grand River.

Response

The American Red Cross of West Michigan deployed to heavily affected neighborhoods in the area. They also opened multiple shelters for people who had to evacuate their homes due to the rising waters. Shelters were opened at the Kentwood Activities Center in Grand Rapids, Alpine Baptist Church in Comstock Park, and the First Baptist Church in Lowell. Shelters also opened in Ionia County at the Ionia Armory Community Center; Ottawa County at the Hudsonville Congregation United Church of Christ; and Newaygo County at the TrueNorth Community Services building. During the floods, thousands of residents in the Grand Rapids area volunteered to fill over 100,000 sand bags that were to be used throughout the territory. Near the Grand Rapids wastewater facility, a wall of sandbags were placed. CSX Transportation also placed train cars full of salt on a 110-year-old

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles triangl ...

that crossed the river near Wealthy Street in order to weigh down the bridge from the rising floodwaters below it.

Aftermath

The state of emergency declared by Mayor Heartwell lasted until May 24 in order to give more time for officials to gather information about the impact of the flooding. Following the flooding, thousands of sandbags had to be removed with some possibly being stored for future use for other floods. Discussions were also held on whether to turn the wall of sandbags near the Grand Rapids wastewater facility into a permanent berm for future protection. In the spring of 2014, Grand Rapids and Walker started a $703,000 contract to install flap gates and to perform repairs to existing flood walls. In August 2014, Grand Rapids also released plans to remove obstructions in the Grand River and to raise the berm near their wastewater plant. After initial claims by Grand Rapids officials that the flood walls in the city were adequate, in November 2014, city officials decided to look at ways to heighten flood walls due to factors involving

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and a proposed river restoration project.

References

{{reflist, 30em Grand Rapids flood 2013 in Michigan Floods in the United States Grand Rapids metropolitan area