Flood — Ionia, Michigan

2019-02-06 to 2019-02-27 · near Portland, Ionia, Michigan

Event narrative

An ice jam formed and held in Portland for three weeks, resulting in significant flooding and around 200,000 dollars in damage to public facilities.

Wider weather episode

On February 6, 2019 an ice jam formed on the Grand River in Portland. Approximately 50 residents were evacuated from their homes along Water Street in downtown Portland. 2 days later, on February 8, the ice jam shifted and thickened, causing additional flooding. Many businesses along Kent Street were flooded, and residents along Canal and Market streets were evacuated. The ice jam held for more than 3 weeks before finally melting and shifting downstream. Some homes on Water Street experienced continuous flooding for most of this 3 week period. The flooding caused approximately $200,000 damage to public facilities alone. This total does not include the damage to private homes and businesses from the flood.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.8860, -84.9085)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 835272. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.