According to Midland County officials as of ~3pm (EST) 5/20/2020, the Sanford dam may still be somewhat intact but they can't tell because it's underwater (they're using the term "failed" because it's spilling over, not necessarily because the structure has collapsed). Latest images of the Sanford dam appear to show overflow limited to the emergency spillway area. The current hope is that the dam itself will hold long enough for the upstream flow from the Wixom lake breach to recede. If the Sanford dam fails, areas downstream are looking at 500-year flood levels. Local and state police have already begun staging in a number of downstream areas, presumably to facilitate evacuations if the dam fails.
These two videos appear to me to be real videos of Sanford Dam: ruclips.net/video/BzObRlhuztU/видео.html ruclips.net/video/lzgu_Mnkfgk/видео.html In the first, you can see how the emergency spillway is not much lower than the top of the dam. In the second (at 0:40), contrary to what the title says, it is fairly obvious that the spillway and much of the dam are missing. The water level appears significantly lower than what the spillway height was, and the length of dam not showing above the water appears quite a bit longer than just the spillway length. Unless this video is actually of a different dam (or an extensive fake), I'd say the dam is gone.
@@andrewsnow7386 Yeah, based on that second video, looks like the entire earthen part from the emergency spillway to the side is washed out. There's a riffle over where the emergency spillway is, so some of that may still be intact underwater. Maybe the city officials are hoping some of that earthen wall is still underwater as well and as the river drops it'll slow the release of the lake, as the "hole" will be smaller?
Isn't it amazing that major news networks can't do this ? Every time there is a major happening they trot out some "specialist" who doesn't know his arse from an anthill.
@@SomeTechGuy666 That would require them to cover Gov. W-I-T-C-H mer (intended) in an unflattering way WRT restritive control and failing to have dam owners correct their deficiency notices.
I live here in Michigan and I'm so glad you're covering this I like the way you covered the Oroville Dam and I believe you'll do a good job giving us the facts on this one keep up the good work
I. Do. Not. Think. This. Is. A. Dam. It's. A. Dirt. Stone. Embankment. Been. On. Tibbs. Many. Times. From Detroit. Fishing. Was. Good. Back. In. The. Day. Good. Luck. To. All. Affected.
Agreed, Raymond, I'm in the Chicago burbs and knew that you had flooding and dams threatened but the news is more like the usual sensational stuff. Had no idea how bad things were and getting the degree of how bad from RUclips.
I came several years ago for your motorcycle vids, stayed for the aviation vids, and now your infrastructure vids. Nice work, and thank you for your analysis.
The best dam coverage available. Seriously. I,m in michigan and have been searching for informative reporting and you provided the best i've found. Thank you. I to am wondering about the chemical plant. Luckily my sister and her family recently moved from Midland. Prayers going out to all the people in that mess.
I found your channel when the Oroville Spillway Failed and followed all your great coverage, never would have expected to be following your channel for a dam failure in my back yard. Thanks for all the good info through the years, I look forward to your info on this failure as its close to home for me.
I know, right, George ! Juan is VERY legit - he's putting the US News Networks to shame - thank God ! "One man speaking the Truth outweighs an entire world of lies" - John Knox (paraphrased)
@@waynejedynak9443 Ha Ha yes Brother I'm Scots Irish and "channeling my inner Covenanter'. You know, the Scottish "Rebels" who said "No King but King JESUS" It was their Spirit the Colonists were following in the 1770's at our Founding. I rejoice that you remember him - one of those fearless preachers we need more of...
Thanks Juan , I have a sister that lives In Midland and get reports from her . They had a record flood back in 1986 and this flooding will probably break that record by at least 6 to 9 feet higher. Thankfully she is safe where she lives in town, all our prayers are going out to the families affected by this heat breaking event. Your Orville damn videos gave us alot of great info about dams and their structures. I also am a furloughed pilot. 777 & 767's
Step aside ABC, CBS, NBC. Juan Brown has the story covered like a blanket. After watching the main networks with reporters on scene I had a vague idea of the situation. Then I watched Juan and got the most updated story from 2000 miles away!!
Thank you for all this great information I live in Midland Michigan and it is a big disaster so many homes lost and thank God no lives were lost love your channel ✝️✝️✝️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Juan, I live 20 minutes from there. It's a privilege to have somebody who knows what the heck they are talking about report on it. I only sustained a wet basement. Nothing compared to the folks east of me. Thanks again for your focus on this. (And all your other fantastic coverage.)
I am from Michigan so have been paying attention to all of this coverage. Thanks for being factual in your reporting (been following you since Oroville). There are a lot of people being critical of officials and engineers etc. about this and it is often left out of reporting that in essence these emergency spillways did function as intended: they gave people time. Although the photo/videos are shocking to see, all the residents had plenty of warning and I don’t believe there has been a single fatality. As for the emergency spillway capacity, I don’t know to what level they were designed for. We had an unprecedented amount of rain with huge portions of that watershed getting over 7 inches of rain in the hours/day preceding the flooding (falling on already saturated soil). I don’t know if any reasonable level of emergency spillway capacity would have been able to handle that volume of water. Just my two cents. Thanks for being straightforward and not rushing to criticize or blame. Keep up the good work.
I'm from Midland. My house and neighborhood has an immense amount of damage from this. Three years ago we had another flood due to EVEN MORE rain than this, but no where NEAR the damages. So in my opinion, this is 100% the company's fault for neglecting to perform maintenance on the dam. The dam had previously prevented a flood like this due to more pressure, there is no excuse for it not to have done the same this time around.
@@BlueFire498 - I'm also from Mich (sry you're going through this bro) I've now head that the Corp of engineers told the owners that the dam was in need of repairs and recommended lowering the water level in the lake. The lake front owners had a fit and didn't want the water levels lowered as to hamper boating / docking. Then a bunch of bunny huggers failed a suit stating that lowering the water level would endanger a type of muscle. The power company actually went to court trying to get the ok to lower the water and from what I hear, they fought hard to comply with the Corp of engineers recommendation. In the end a judge(s) ruled in favor of the bunny huggers. It would seem that the dam owners were the ONLY ones that wanted to do the right thing.
All Americans need do is pay attention to Global Warming! This is why we are having so many & often harmful/damaging environmental events! We need to FIRE all those THUGS in our State, Local & Federal Governments an elect individuals that CARE about what's happening to our Country, because of the harmful and toxic destruction's, FOR MONEY, to our Planet! All while, they have gotten so filthy wealthy, they have Homes in other Countries to FLEE TO, once they finish making America into another 3rd World Country!
I’m from Michigan too, I clicked on the video when I saw Tittabawassee River on the title. I live like two minutes from it but though I’m down in Saginaw. Crazy year.
Mr. Browne; I must admit that I am startled at your depth of understanding. I didn't expect a zoomie to have such a rich understanding of hydrology. I tip my hat, sir.
My family lost everything from all the flooding. My Grandpa's brother and sister in law barely got out in time because they are in their 80s and don't move very quick. A farmer saw them and jump into his $500,000 brand new tractor he got delivered last week and got them to safety. Thank God there are still amazing people like him. The water level is 10ft high on the outside of the house and my grandpa's sister and brother in law weren't home when it flooded but there home is no longer there got washed away by the water.
I've been reading through the comments and would like to thank all those who live in the affected area for the updates. And please GET OUT OF THERE! Stay safe everyone!
YOU BETTER GET OUTA THERE ON YOUR OWN , YOUR DEMOCRAT RAN STATE DO NOT CARE IF YOU GET OUT OR NOT. I DONT UNDERSTAND YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS, DEMOCRATS HATE YOU!!!!!🇺🇸
Fantastic work, sir! I have been a fan of your channel for a long time, I love the objective and professional way you comment on aviation accidents. Being a resident of Midland, MI, and luckily having (narrowly) escaped damage to my property, I was pleasantly surprised by you commenting on this disaster! All the best.
Wow. I lived 54 yrs of my life in that area. Spent many days on Wixom and Sanford lake. Great Walleye and bass fishing on them and the Tippy river. Midlands just a great fun city. So sad to see all this happening!
Thank you for clarifying "overwhelm" versus "failure." Similar but very different. I am in Georgia and to hear NBC News, they made out like the dams just crumbled. Your explanations is clearly understandable in terms of what happened and WHY it happened. Prayers for everyone impacted by this act of Mother Nature.
@@LardGreystoke yes, but the way NBC was reporting it was all wrong. Yes, after the fact the earthen part was washed away. I understand now. Thank you. If you're in that area, stay safe!
Wixom lake’s did just crumble. The lake emptied in about one hour. The land embankment to the east of the main dam was washed out. There are videos of it happening. Water was never flowing over the emergency spill way on Wixom Lake. -Midlander
I decided to wait for this video before reading or watching any news coverage, this is the most informative channel with accurate data and analysis...Thanks Juan
I live in Midland, roughly a mile from the Tittabawassee River. Over 11,000 people evacuated in roughly an hour without a single death or serious injury. Impressive work by our county officials.
Same. Michigan media is or was saying something to the effect of the Sanford structure is still standing. Ok, the gate structure may be standing, if the rest is inundated or gone, is that really the important message to be sending?
So much THIS!!! First I heard of this was last night from an INDIAN news source - ruclips.net/video/wvKngSrorXQ/видео.html - and then I get a great detailed report from Juan. Citizen Journalist and Foreign news source are curb stomping American traditional media sources!
@@adamludwick9931 Might want to also keep an eye on a channel called Inventor Lee Wheelbarger. He covered these 3 dam failures the night of the 19th May for 5 hours and gave a 2 hour update today. More video footage is difficult to come by. He had on live audio from first responders dispatch. He also covered the Paradise fires as they happened for almost a month. Unfortunate that YT made him take down those videos in order to stay online.
Thank you!!! I am in Michigan (near Detroit though) and am finding your description and explanation better then anything I have seen locally. I didn't want to watch the local news coverage where they exaggerate, toss in 42 commercials, maybe a cooking demo and then go political before returning to what the heck happened in Midland. So again, thank you for your video!
Hey Juan outstanding job as always. I live in Midland and this is a sad deal on top of everything else. Keep up the awesome coverage you do on all the subjects you talk about. I've lived here all my life and you just taught me a lot of things I didn't know👍🏻
Been waiting all morning for your report Juan. Thanks. Looking at the photos from Michigan in comparison; we got lucky back in 2017. Oroville Emergency Spillway could have gone so wrong. 🤪 Prayers for everyone back Michigan.
Thanks Juan for doing the research on this and getting the word out! I swear there ought to be a Pulitzer Prize for best reporting on the internet, and you should be the first recipient :)
Thanks for covering this. I've spent a lot of time up near Sanford (live in Lapeer, MI). They've got a helluva mess up in that area. Good explanation of dams, spillways, etc.
I have friends, who live in Michigan. I am praying real hard, for their safety and well being. I have shared your update with them, and many others. I will continue to share any future updates that you post. Thank you!
Great coverage and information Juan, as always! I have built a few small earth-filled dams. The first rule the old engineer gave me was that you never have the emergency spillway on any part of the earth-filled dam. He said if the spillway is part of the dam and it fails it could take out the dam. I was standing on the side of a small dam that I had constructed when it was overtopped by water. I ran to get out of there as the dam was collapsing. If my memory serves me right the dam was gone in about a half-hour!
It’s worth restating: privately owned dams. And safety hazards known and unaddressed for years. “Mid-Michigan dam that failed was cited for years for safety violations. MIDLAND - The owner of a Gladwin County dam that failed and prompted widespread evacuations Tuesday was cited repeatedly by federal officials for safety violations, including failing to fix spillways used to prevent flooding, ...”
Larry Scott - I know some about dams (my uncle worked at one and we often went with him) - it seems to me the spillways are surprisingly narrow! Just this makes me wonder why this chain reaction didn’t happen sooner!
T Look It’s the Johnstown flood scenario all over again. And just like the Johnstown flood, the owners won’t pay a red cent. The dam of that flood was privately owned. Turned into a private recreational lake. The dam modified. Spillway had iron piping to control water release, which were sold for scrap leaving no controlled method of releases. Further repairs and maintenance deferred, warnings ignored. Flood killed thousands and wiped out huge fraction of towns downstream. “..Fifty thousand lives," wrote Harrisburg newspaperman J. J. McLaurin, "in Pennsylvania were jeopardized for eight years that a club of rich pleasure seekers might fish and sail and revel in luxurious ease during the heated term." Concluding that dam repair and inspection had been botched by wealthy amateurs, engineers, too, weighed in against the club members. In the damage suits filed against members of the club for their negligence, the courts, however, concluded that the collapse of the dam was an "act of God." No court awarded compensation to any victims of the flood...” explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-144
Larry Scott: With as crooked, and corrupt as our courts are...Did you really expect a different ruling? The corruption is even WORSE now, so they will probably make the home owners in the area liable...Then, levy a "pollution tax", against everyone else!
He has some good maps and overview, but it's difficult to get that when you are trying to cover it live as it happens and when people need the information. I was watching a channel last night cover the 3 dam failures and the M30 bridge failure, and the M10 bridge being under water. Don't hear that mentioned much today.
More worried about DOW Chemical. There’s a huge chemical production dual plant area down stream of all of this. I literally just picked up a load there on Monday night. And it was raining 🌧 like Noah’s flood on Monday evening about 18:00 🕕
My first thought when I heard this. The fact that it is happening right at the plant is terrifying. When looking for a home I really wanted to move up to Saginaw/Bay City area but this plant and the river were my greatest concern. Seems to have been a valid.
If you use any of the Dow silicon products, they came out of the Midland plant. If they are down for any amount of time, that’s going to leave Momentive (old GE Silicones) as the only major US silicone manufacturer. Not good for the building trade or aerospace. corrected the old GE silicone name to Momentive
Saw this video as a recommendation to watch and immediately said that sounds like something blancolirio should cover. Without realizing it was your video.
That is true and they actually pulled the permit at Edenville recently because of it. If you don't have flood insurance I would absolutely sue the power plant/dam company!
the owner attempted to lower the lake level to effect repairs after the FERC pulled their license. State of Michigan sued to prevent their lowering of the water due to the impact of snails and the lake front home owners not having access to their recreational lake rights.
@@kashmirgoat for years the feds have been after them to fix the dam, and they kept saying they didn't have the money. Why do you buy dam if you don't have the money to up keep it
@@kashmirgoat That is correct, I am so tired of the blame being solely on the owners of the dam. They were denied permission to lower the lake levels. If the lakes had been lowered this probably would not have happened (at least not at this time).
@@dougc190 You don't have the money when your source of revenue is shut off because you can't use the dam to generate the power. The power company already had the dam before their license was pulled. The whole thing is a Multi-Agency Charlie Foxtrot aka Cluster-Foulup.
I've traveled this area for decades and have crossed at Edenville countless times. It's hard to grasp the misery people are experiencing right now. Thanks for your presentation, especially the pronunciation of the old, Native American names.
I live 2 blocks from the tittabawassee river in Freeland and for me to get from one side of the river to the other, it's almost a 2 hour drive. All bridges crossing the river have been closed until they are inspected. Flooding has devastated Midland and shields. Videos of the lakes being emptied within hours is eerie to look at. I think the evacuation and warnings were well done from what I know and have seen. I thought you were from michigan, most people cannot pronounce the names of these areas unless your from here. Great job.
oh boy, I hope everyone living in the area next to those dams are okay. You guys up there in the US need to have a serious talk about infrastructure and maintenance...
In the 80s a lot of infrastructure was reaching its 50 year lifespan and then we had Reagan and trickle down. We never raised taxes on the rich or funded infrastructure like it should be because old infrastructure isn't sexy like new infrastructure.
They have been "talking" about infrastructure for years but nothing ever gets done. It seems to be more important to spend money on a Southern border wall than to repair infrastructure. At the local level, voters don't want to pay taxes to replace or repair these things. There is so much denial about how bad some structures are.
@@tiredoldmechanic1791 unfortunately, we know how this ends. It's only a matter of time before some big structure fails and takes hundreds of lives with it.
Thanks for looking into it Juan. The aftermath of this will be interesting in regard to the damage of course, but longer term if these are even rebuilt or not.
I went to college in Midland, MI at Northwood University. It’s bad. Few friends around that area and lots of homes have sustained significant flooding as well as homes washed away. 3 dams failed, Smallwood, Edenville, and Sanford.
Dude, I thought I had a lot of information in my nugget, but your level of knowledge and the way you get it out, are as good as it gets for someone that doesn’t do this for a living and probably better than most that do it for a living. That’s why I clicked on your channel and not a news network.
WSJ: Failed Michigan Dam Lost License in 2018: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cited operator Boyce Hydro Power for safety concerns www.wsj.com/articles/regulators-pulled-license-of-failed-michigan-dam-in-2018-11589994661 “The area had been experiencing heavy rains from a slow-moving storm in recent days. By 11:15 a.m. local time Wednesday, the Tittabawassee River level was at just under 35 feet-higher than its record 1986 crest, according to the National Weather Service.”
Thanks Juan, another great job of reporting. The main stream media reports have been absent enough details to give us a total picture on what is happening with no specific info on the dams themselves. I did see one report that all the dams in that watershed were listed as significant hazards. But no details on why they were so designated. Keep up the excellent reporting!
Last report I heard - as of noon today (5-20), reporting from Jackson, MI, many miles from the affected area - the Edenville dam failed sometime yesterday after an inundation of 8"+/- of rainfall on top of already saturated ground. That dam had been previously cited as "inappropriately maintained" (read:NOT) as recently as 2018. Apparently it has completely failed. The lower dam - Sanford - has been "compromised", but has not failed completely. Even given that, the city of Midland is expecting something in the neighborhood of 9' of flooding in the central business district. The Sanford dam was also cited in the 2018 survey, but to a lesser extent than the Edenville dam. So far, it seems to be holding, albeit at a degraded capacity. The city of Sagnaw is next in line to get the flooding - no word as yet regarding what they are expecting...
@@ffjsb- In April 2019 the American Road and Transportation Builders Association sited 47,000 bridges in poor condition and in need of urgent repairs. And that's just bridges but we've got a wall
Thank You Juan! Finally getting some decent coverage of the thing.. we need to send you to all the disasters. You could have work in broadcast if something bad in aviation happens.. imho.. Great work as always!
Please correct me, these pictures indicate the worst is yet to come. With other failures such as broken dams and other disasters we we not prepared for.
@@fredricunderhill204 You are most likely correct, and it looks like this is going to be a problem everywhere in the country not just California, so everyone should pay attention and be prepared.
David Scott, You are correct. For years, electeds and bureaucrats have looked a preparedness such dams breaking and pandemics and retirement funding as a cookie jar to be raided with impunity. Well, there are real needs and no funding.
According to Midland County officials as of ~3pm (EST) 5/20/2020, the Sanford dam may still be somewhat intact but they can't tell because it's underwater (they're using the term "failed" because it's spilling over, not necessarily because the structure has collapsed). Latest images of the Sanford dam appear to show overflow limited to the emergency spillway area. The current hope is that the dam itself will hold long enough for the upstream flow from the Wixom lake breach to recede. If the Sanford dam fails, areas downstream are looking at 500-year flood levels. Local and state police have already begun staging in a number of downstream areas, presumably to facilitate evacuations if the dam fails.
These two videos appear to me to be real videos of Sanford Dam:
ruclips.net/video/BzObRlhuztU/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/lzgu_Mnkfgk/видео.html
In the first, you can see how the emergency spillway is not much lower than the top of the dam. In the second (at 0:40), contrary to what the title says, it is fairly obvious that the spillway and much of the dam are missing. The water level appears significantly lower than what the spillway height was, and the length of dam not showing above the water appears quite a bit longer than just the spillway length. Unless this video is actually of a different dam (or an extensive fake), I'd say the dam is gone.
Here's the link to the 5/20/2020 3pm Press Event op mentioned: facebook.com/co.midland.mi.us/videos/2899191300194247/?t=195
Rethink living on flood plains
@@nicotti This part is just politicos blowing we have seen enough of that
@@andrewsnow7386 Yeah, based on that second video, looks like the entire earthen part from the emergency spillway to the side is washed out. There's a riffle over where the emergency spillway is, so some of that may still be intact underwater. Maybe the city officials are hoping some of that earthen wall is still underwater as well and as the river drops it'll slow the release of the lake, as the "hole" will be smaller?
Always the insightful and FACTUAL information. No drama, just the cold, hard truth
Isn't it amazing that major news networks can't do this ? Every time there is a major happening they trot out some "specialist" who doesn't know his arse from an anthill.
@@SomeTechGuy666 That would require them to cover Gov. W-I-T-C-H mer (intended) in an unflattering way WRT restritive control and failing to have dam owners correct their deficiency notices.
Yup, just the dam truth!
yes, I have been following Juan since the Orville incident precisely because of this
TechGuy Why aren’t they interviewing YOU, Mr. Know-it-all?? 🤣🤣
I live here in Michigan and I'm so glad you're covering this I like the way you covered the Oroville Dam and I believe you'll do a good job giving us the facts on this one keep up the good work
Jesus my will,
You hate but nare xxporn fr frydsy
Real fail is:
ruclips.net/video/lCl7I7png08/видео.html
Fode Bic damn that shit is nasty! 🤢
I. Do. Not. Think. This. Is. A. Dam. It's. A. Dirt. Stone. Embankment. Been. On. Tibbs. Many. Times. From
Detroit. Fishing. Was. Good. Back. In. The. Day. Good. Luck. To. All. Affected.
I'm in mich
Seriously....most excellent coverage, explanation, visuals concerning this unfortunate situation 👍
Very thorough and concise.
As usual. After the coverage of the Oroville dam incident, I expect no less.
I wish our local news had 1/4 the talent in reporting that you have. Spot on and factual. Well done.
Made more sense than any coverage I've seen thus far. Thanks Juan.
You did an amazing job pronouncing names of these rivers and lakes not being from Michigan.
Indeed he did. Wonder how he'd do with some of the county names! I'm originally from Ogemaw Co. where they've been getting some local flooding also!
I'm Ohio born, and I'm pretty sure the entire midwest-born can pronounce the Indian names..
He's a stand up guy!
Random you are right about Juan Pronouncing them Right .
Barry Allard that might be true of the Youppers, but I don’t know whether the Trolls who live “below the (Mackinac) bridge” would agree.
Juan Brown: The best dam reporter on RUclips!
I'm glad you are covering this Juan!...not seeing much coverage on it... I'm definitely interested in this!...thank you very much! 😊😊
Why hasn't the governor of Michigan issued a "stay in your banks" order for the river?
Cementer Lol!! Good question!
Agreed, Raymond, I'm in the Chicago burbs and knew that you had flooding and dams threatened but the news is more like the usual sensational stuff. Had no idea how bad things were and getting the degree of how bad from RUclips.
@Lauren Brawt yes..I've seen some coverage this morning...what worries me is that a lot if the majority of folks probably aren't insured for this...
I came several years ago for your motorcycle vids, stayed for the aviation vids, and now your infrastructure vids. Nice work, and thank you for your analysis.
Thank you, this was very educational for those outside MI trying to understand and keep up with this story. Praying for all those impacted.
The best dam coverage available. Seriously. I,m in michigan and have been searching for informative reporting and you provided the best i've found. Thank you. I to am wondering about the chemical plant. Luckily my sister and her family recently moved from Midland. Prayers going out to all the people in that mess.
Juan,
Thank you for this report. My sympathies to the residents of the affected areas.
God bles
Paul (in MA)
The only good thing about disasters is hearing Juan review each event accurately and in detail.
I found your channel when the Oroville Spillway Failed and followed all your great coverage, never would have expected to be following your channel for a dam failure in my back yard. Thanks for all the good info through the years, I look forward to your info on this failure as its close to home for me.
I know, right, George !
Juan is VERY legit - he's putting the US News Networks to shame - thank God !
"One man speaking the Truth outweighs an entire world of lies" - John Knox (paraphrased)
@@hellosunshine1090 very grateful that someone knows who John Knox was.
@@waynejedynak9443
Ha Ha yes Brother I'm Scots Irish and "channeling my inner Covenanter'.
You know, the Scottish "Rebels" who said "No King but King JESUS"
It was their Spirit the Colonists were following in the 1770's at our Founding.
I rejoice that you remember him - one of those fearless preachers we need more of...
Saginaw, MI resident . . . .thank you for explaining and showing. Prayers to all.
Thanks Juan , I have a sister that lives In Midland and get reports from her . They had a record flood back in 1986 and this flooding will probably break that record by at least 6 to 9 feet higher. Thankfully she is safe where she lives in town, all our prayers are going out to the families affected by this heat breaking event. Your Orville damn videos gave us alot of great info about dams and their structures.
I also am a furloughed pilot. 777 & 767's
Step aside ABC, CBS, NBC. Juan Brown has the story covered like a blanket. After watching the main networks with reporters on scene I had a vague idea of the situation. Then I watched Juan and got the most updated story from 2000 miles away!!
This is only the beginning of this country's failed dams. Most have been neglected for sooooo long its insane.
"Vice News - American infrastructure is crumbling"
Fun fact-90% of the dams in the US are privately own.
flagmichael 3000 lmao that ain’t shit I’ve seen bombs kill more than that
they'd rather spend the money on illegal immigrants.
We live in an era of rampant deregulation, disasters are normal now.
Thank you for all this great information I live in Midland Michigan and it is a big disaster so many homes lost and thank God no lives were lost love your channel ✝️✝️✝️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I thought of you as soon as I saw this yesterday! So glad you are covering
Thank you Juan for excellent coverage of the failure of these over ninety year old dams.
OMG Juan! I live in Michigan and this is the first I have heard about it! You are a national treasure. Thank you so much!
Juan, I live 20 minutes from there. It's a privilege to have somebody who knows what the heck they are talking about report on it. I only sustained a wet basement. Nothing compared to the folks east of me. Thanks again for your focus on this. (And all your other fantastic coverage.)
I am from Michigan so have been paying attention to all of this coverage. Thanks for being factual in your reporting (been following you since Oroville). There are a lot of people being critical of officials and engineers etc. about this and it is often left out of reporting that in essence these emergency spillways did function as intended: they gave people time. Although the photo/videos are shocking to see, all the residents had plenty of warning and I don’t believe there has been a single fatality. As for the emergency spillway capacity, I don’t know to what level they were designed for. We had an unprecedented amount of rain with huge portions of that watershed getting over 7 inches of rain in the hours/day preceding the flooding (falling on already saturated soil). I don’t know if any reasonable level of emergency spillway capacity would have been able to handle that volume of water. Just my two cents. Thanks for being straightforward and not rushing to criticize or blame. Keep up the good work.
I'm from Midland. My house and neighborhood has an immense amount of damage from this. Three years ago we had another flood due to EVEN MORE rain than this, but no where NEAR the damages. So in my opinion, this is 100% the company's fault for neglecting to perform maintenance on the dam. The dam had previously prevented a flood like this due to more pressure, there is no excuse for it not to have done the same this time around.
@@BlueFire498 - I'm also from Mich (sry you're going through this bro) I've now head that the Corp of engineers told the owners that the dam was in need of repairs and recommended lowering the water level in the lake. The lake front owners had a fit and didn't want the water levels lowered as to hamper boating / docking. Then a bunch of bunny huggers failed a suit stating that lowering the water level would endanger a type of muscle. The power company actually went to court trying to get the ok to lower the water and from what I hear, they fought hard to comply with the Corp of engineers recommendation. In the end a judge(s) ruled in favor of the bunny huggers. It would seem that the dam owners were the ONLY ones that wanted to do the right thing.
All Americans need do is pay attention to Global Warming! This is why we are having so many & often harmful/damaging environmental events! We need to FIRE all those THUGS in our State, Local & Federal Governments an elect individuals that CARE about what's happening to our Country, because of the harmful and toxic destruction's, FOR MONEY, to our Planet! All while, they have gotten so filthy wealthy, they have Homes in other Countries to FLEE TO, once they finish making America into another 3rd World Country!
I’m from Michigan too, I clicked on the video when I saw Tittabawassee River on the title. I live like two minutes from it but though I’m down in Saginaw. Crazy year.
Routine complacency. A term often experienced but seldom explained. Juan could explain it much better than I can.
Heard about this yesterday but I was waiting for Juan to gives us the facts rather than listen to the news.
@ boost demon,
You got that right!
Could have watched some live coverage, with Inventor Lee Wheelbarger who covered it 5 hours on the 19th. Difficult to get anything on MSM
Me too,nobody does it better
And the comments here are NOT cancer!
It’s funny, when the facts are reported how the political climate is maintained.
Mr. Browne; I must admit that I am startled at your depth of understanding. I didn't expect a zoomie to have such a rich understanding of hydrology. I tip my hat, sir.
Another great report. I hope that the people in Michigan are viewing this.
Even better were living it....
I watched from Michigan! Great reporting
My family lost everything from all the flooding. My Grandpa's brother and sister in law barely got out in time because they are in their 80s and don't move very quick. A farmer saw them and jump into his $500,000 brand new tractor he got delivered last week and got them to safety. Thank God there are still amazing people like him. The water level is 10ft high on the outside of the house and my grandpa's sister and brother in law weren't home when it flooded but there home is no longer there got washed away by the water.
I've been reading through the comments and would like to thank all those who live in the affected area for the updates. And please GET OUT OF THERE!
Stay safe everyone!
YOU BETTER GET OUTA THERE ON YOUR OWN , YOUR DEMOCRAT RAN STATE DO NOT CARE IF YOU GET OUT OR NOT. I DONT UNDERSTAND YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS, DEMOCRATS HATE YOU!!!!!🇺🇸
Wish i had houseboat!⛵
[This]ruclips.net/video/pVsLL3Bel-4/видео.html
@@VASTSports aweful situation
Fantastic work, sir! I have been a fan of your channel for a long time, I love the objective and professional way you comment on aviation accidents. Being a resident of Midland, MI, and luckily having (narrowly) escaped damage to my property, I was pleasantly surprised by you commenting on this disaster! All the best.
For a professional airline pilot... you cover some really awesome and out of the box topics Juan!!! Thank You!!!
Very helpful explanations and information. Thank you!
Wow. I lived 54 yrs of my life in that area. Spent many days on Wixom and Sanford lake. Great Walleye and bass fishing on them and the Tippy river. Midlands just a great fun city. So sad to see all this happening!
Excellent video and PSA! All our prayers for the people in the path of these flood waters.
Best wishes and sympathy from Houston. From our Harvey experience I know flood recovery takes years. Not worried. You guys are tough.
Your coverage yesterday was more informative than local coverage today.
Thank you for clarifying "overwhelm" versus "failure." Similar but very different. I am in Georgia and to hear NBC News, they made out like the dams just crumbled. Your explanations is clearly understandable in terms of what happened and WHY it happened. Prayers for everyone impacted by this act of Mother Nature.
The dams, actually, did partly crumble.
NBC = No Body Cares
@@tindoortailgator amen!!
@@LardGreystoke yes, but the way NBC was reporting it was all wrong. Yes, after the fact the earthen part was washed away. I understand now. Thank you. If you're in that area, stay safe!
Wixom lake’s did just crumble. The lake emptied in about one hour. The land embankment to the east of the main dam was washed out. There are videos of it happening. Water was never flowing over the emergency spill way on Wixom Lake.
-Midlander
I was hoping you would make a video. After a long day at the hospital. Your videos make my night!
Your content is simple but very knowledgeable and entertaining. Keep up the great work
I decided to wait for this video before reading or watching any news coverage, this is the most informative channel with accurate data and analysis...Thanks Juan
You rock Juan! Always great and timely information.
I live in Midland, roughly a mile from the Tittabawassee River. Over 11,000 people evacuated in roughly an hour without a single death or serious injury. Impressive work by our county officials.
I've been avoiding the news reports until I get the FACTS from Juan!
Same. Michigan media is or was saying something to the effect of the Sanford structure is still standing. Ok, the gate structure may be standing, if the rest is inundated or gone, is that really the important message to be sending?
Great advice!
So much THIS!!! First I heard of this was last night from an INDIAN news source - ruclips.net/video/wvKngSrorXQ/видео.html - and then I get a great detailed report from Juan. Citizen Journalist and Foreign news source are curb stomping American traditional media sources!
@@adamludwick9931
Curb stomping! Haha! I never thought that I would hear a time when I thought that phrase would be so fitting and funny.
@@adamludwick9931 Might want to also keep an eye on a channel called Inventor Lee Wheelbarger. He covered these 3 dam failures the night of the 19th May for 5 hours and gave a 2 hour update today. More video footage is difficult to come by. He had on live audio from first responders dispatch. He also covered the Paradise fires as they happened for almost a month. Unfortunate that YT made him take down those videos in order to stay online.
I found this channel years ago because of the dam in California and stayed for the aviation videos.
Thanks, Juan. As we say in Idaho..."All dams will fail, some sooner than others."
Thank you!!! I am in Michigan (near Detroit though) and am finding your description and explanation better then anything I have seen locally. I didn't want to watch the local news coverage where they exaggerate, toss in 42 commercials, maybe a cooking demo and then go political before returning to what the heck happened in Midland. So again, thank you for your video!
Hey Juan outstanding job as always. I live in Midland and this is a sad deal on top of everything else. Keep up the awesome coverage you do on all the subjects you talk about. I've lived here all my life and you just taught me a lot of things I didn't know👍🏻
Been waiting all morning for your report Juan. Thanks.
Looking at the photos from Michigan in comparison; we got lucky back in 2017. Oroville Emergency Spillway could have gone so wrong. 🤪
Prayers for everyone back Michigan.
Looking forward to your factual updates - you are quite the authority on earth dams now!!
Juan, you are my Go To for flood emergencies, ever since Oroville. Thanks!
Thanks Juan for doing the research on this and getting the word out! I swear there ought to be a Pulitzer Prize for best reporting on the internet, and you should be the first recipient :)
I know Juan doesn't like his extended vacation, but I am glad that he was available to report on these dam failures in MI.
Thanks for covering this. I've spent a lot of time up near Sanford (live in Lapeer, MI). They've got a helluva mess up in that area. Good explanation of dams, spillways, etc.
My brother lives in Midland, his house was spared by the floods but it was very close, Thank you for the info it was helpful
I have friends, who live in Michigan. I am praying real hard, for their safety and well being. I have shared your update with them, and many others. I will continue to share any future updates that you post. Thank you!
Great coverage and information Juan, as always! I have built a few small earth-filled dams. The first rule the old engineer gave me was that you never have the emergency spillway on any part of the earth-filled dam. He said if the spillway is part of the dam and it fails it could take out the dam. I was standing on the side of a small dam that I had constructed when it was overtopped by water. I ran to get out of there as the dam was collapsing. If my memory serves me right the dam was gone in about a half-hour!
Sounds like descriptions of the Johnstown PA dam failure.
It’s worth restating: privately owned dams. And safety hazards known and unaddressed for years.
“Mid-Michigan dam that failed was cited for years for safety violations. MIDLAND - The owner of a Gladwin County dam that failed and prompted widespread evacuations Tuesday was cited repeatedly by federal officials for safety violations, including failing to fix spillways used to prevent flooding, ...”
Larry Scott - I know some about dams (my uncle worked at one and we often went with him) - it seems to me the spillways are surprisingly narrow! Just this makes me wonder why this chain reaction didn’t happen sooner!
T Look
It’s the Johnstown flood scenario all over again. And just like the Johnstown flood, the owners won’t pay a red cent.
The dam of that flood was privately owned. Turned into a private recreational lake. The dam modified. Spillway had iron piping to control water release, which were sold for scrap leaving no controlled method of releases. Further repairs and maintenance deferred, warnings ignored. Flood killed thousands and wiped out huge fraction of towns downstream.
“..Fifty thousand lives," wrote Harrisburg newspaperman J. J. McLaurin, "in Pennsylvania were jeopardized for eight years that a club of rich pleasure seekers might fish and sail and revel in luxurious ease during the heated term." Concluding that dam repair and inspection had been botched by wealthy amateurs, engineers, too, weighed in against the club members. In the damage suits filed against members of the club for their negligence, the courts, however, concluded that the collapse of the dam was an "act of God." No court awarded compensation to any victims of the flood...”
explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-144
Larry Scott: With as crooked, and corrupt as our courts are...Did you really expect a different ruling? The corruption is even WORSE now, so they will probably make the home owners in the area liable...Then, levy a "pollution tax", against everyone else!
Burt Burt
What do think my point was?
I'm just surprise you actually saw my comment...Rolling shadow banning going on in SusanTube...
Thank you Juan for this great coverage and information.
Best (dam🤔) coverage on this incident 👍
Ann Harvey ta dum dum
@@LANDSHARKK 😏
He has some good maps and overview, but it's difficult to get that when you are trying to cover it live as it happens and when people need the information. I was watching a channel last night cover the 3 dam failures and the M30 bridge failure, and the M10 bridge being under water. Don't hear that mentioned much today.
@@recoveringsoul755 interesting. I thought i heard somewhere about a 3rd breach.
I have been a fan of your channel for a while. Cool to see you cover something from where I’m from.
When i saw this on the news today i was hoping for one of your updates, and here it is. :)
I always come to your channel when I need this kind of information. Thanks again.
Thanks from Michigan for covering this! 👍
As soon as I saw the dam fail I sent it to Juan to make sure he covered it. I only trust my news from the blancolirio channel
@@Antonyg2100 Thanks Tony!
True coverage in my own back yard. Thanx Juan!
More worried about DOW Chemical.
There’s a huge chemical production dual plant area down stream of all of this.
I literally just picked up a load there on Monday night.
And it was raining 🌧 like Noah’s flood on Monday evening about 18:00 🕕
It be the pocktolyps!
Going to be a mess as the flood waters reach the chemical plants
My first thought when I heard this. The fact that it is happening right at the plant is terrifying. When looking for a home I really wanted to move up to Saginaw/Bay City area but this plant and the river were my greatest concern. Seems to have been a valid.
Yes Dow Chemical. The largest manufacturer of the infamous Agent Orange.
If you use any of the Dow silicon products, they came out of the Midland plant.
If they are down for any amount of time, that’s going to leave Momentive (old GE Silicones) as the only major US silicone manufacturer.
Not good for the building trade or aerospace.
corrected the old GE silicone name to Momentive
I was hoping you would post something on this. Day one oroville follower here. We know about our earth filled dams 🙌🙌🙌🙌. Thanks juan
Saw this video as a recommendation to watch and immediately said that sounds like something blancolirio should cover.
Without realizing it was your video.
Thanks for sharing the information Juan. Sadly You have gained more knowledge than You'd wish about these events in the last few years.
I find it funny that Blancolirio has become my dam expert ! But glade he is.
puttesla intxtbks is
Whats more remarkable is this amazingly articulate and intelligent man is from California. If they had him in Sacramento he could fix that state.
@@1verstapp He was my # one for that one too. A man of many suits. Planes, dirt bikes and music for a start.
@@putteslaintxtbks5166 And a great family man!
I'm Glade for your comment.
Great reporting! I live about fifty miles south of all of this. It’s becoming quite a problem up there. Thank you Juan!
I knew you'd be right on top of this, Juan- thank you!!
Excellent job of conveying the information on the two dams failing.
I heard that these dams had deficiencies since 2011, the company responsible for these deficiencies is Boyce Hydro.
That is true and they actually pulled the permit at Edenville recently because of it. If you don't have flood insurance I would absolutely sue the power plant/dam company!
the owner attempted to lower the lake level to effect repairs after the FERC pulled their license. State of Michigan sued to prevent their lowering of the water due to the impact of snails and the lake front home owners not having access to their recreational lake rights.
@@kashmirgoat for years the feds have been after them to fix the dam, and they kept saying they didn't have the money. Why do you buy dam if you don't have the money to up keep it
@@kashmirgoat That is correct, I am so tired of the blame being solely on the owners of the dam. They were denied permission to lower the lake levels. If the lakes had been lowered this probably would not have happened (at least not at this time).
@@dougc190 You don't have the money when your source of revenue is shut off because you can't use the dam to generate the power. The power company already had the dam before their license was pulled. The whole thing is a Multi-Agency Charlie Foxtrot aka Cluster-Foulup.
Thank you for putting this together. I was hoping to hear from you on this. You did such a fantastic job on the Oroville spillway and dam issue!
Our country really needs to work on our infrastructures. To many of them need work.
Is there profit in that ?
Need a new New Deal. It’ll put people to work too. Kill two birds.
I've traveled this area for decades and have crossed at Edenville countless times. It's hard to grasp the misery people are experiencing right now. Thanks for your presentation, especially the pronunciation of the old, Native American names.
Ooh been waiting all day for your take.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 GOD BLESS ALL & THANK YOU JUAN for this update.
The Northern part of lower Michigan (West Branch, Tawas, etc.) had just received between 5-8" of rain the night before.
They are using weaponized weather against your state.
@@crystaloracle8711 you're an idiot. "Weaponized weather."😆
I live 2 blocks from the tittabawassee river in Freeland and for me to get from one side of the river to the other, it's almost a 2 hour drive. All bridges crossing the river have been closed until they are inspected. Flooding has devastated Midland and shields. Videos of the lakes being emptied within hours is eerie to look at. I think the evacuation and warnings were well done from what I know and have seen. I thought you were from michigan, most people cannot pronounce the names of these areas unless your from here. Great job.
Juan, You the go to guy for interesting technical details. Also love the new mic and the COVID-19 hair too.
the hair?? HA! didn't notice that.
I first became aware of you during the Oroville dam crisis. Great report !
oh boy, I hope everyone living in the area next to those dams are okay.
You guys up there in the US need to have a serious talk about infrastructure and maintenance...
In the 80s a lot of infrastructure was reaching its 50 year lifespan and then we had Reagan and trickle down. We never raised taxes on the rich or funded infrastructure like it should be because old infrastructure isn't sexy like new infrastructure.
They have been "talking" about infrastructure for years but nothing ever gets done. It seems to be more important to spend money on a Southern border wall than to repair infrastructure. At the local level, voters don't want to pay taxes to replace or repair these things. There is so much denial about how bad some structures are.
@@tiredoldmechanic1791 unfortunately, we know how this ends. It's only a matter of time before some big structure fails and takes hundreds of lives with it.
#NextAdministration
@Peg Leg how exactly do you fix something with bombs again?
Excellent job Juan, best report I've seen of this disaster so far.
Thanks for looking into it Juan. The aftermath of this will be interesting in regard to the damage of course, but longer term if these are even rebuilt or not.
I went to college in Midland, MI at Northwood University. It’s bad. Few friends around that area and lots of homes have sustained significant flooding as well as homes washed away. 3 dams failed, Smallwood, Edenville, and Sanford.
Dude, I thought I had a lot of information in my nugget, but your level of knowledge and the way you get it out, are as good as it gets for someone that doesn’t do this for a living and probably better than most that do it for a living. That’s why I clicked on your channel and not a news network.
I was waiting for your video on this!
Great video! I hope everyone was able to get out of the way of the floods.
Juan, you are the best damn guy on line! Thank You.
WSJ: Failed Michigan Dam Lost License in 2018: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cited operator Boyce Hydro Power for safety concerns
www.wsj.com/articles/regulators-pulled-license-of-failed-michigan-dam-in-2018-11589994661
“The area had been experiencing heavy rains from a slow-moving storm in recent days. By 11:15 a.m. local time Wednesday, the Tittabawassee River level was at just under 35 feet-higher than its record 1986 crest, according to the National Weather Service.”
Thanks Juan, another great job of reporting. The main stream media reports have been absent enough details to give us a total picture on what is happening with no specific info on the dams themselves. I did see one report that all the dams in that watershed were listed as significant hazards. But no details on why they were so designated. Keep up the excellent reporting!
Thanks Juan, Keep us informed, Love your coverage of Oroville
Last report I heard - as of noon today (5-20), reporting from Jackson, MI, many miles from the affected area - the Edenville dam failed sometime yesterday after an inundation of 8"+/- of rainfall on top of already saturated ground. That dam had been previously cited as "inappropriately maintained" (read:NOT) as recently as 2018. Apparently it has completely failed. The lower dam - Sanford - has been "compromised", but has not failed completely. Even given that, the city of Midland is expecting something in the neighborhood of 9' of flooding in the central business district. The Sanford dam was also cited in the 2018 survey, but to a lesser extent than the Edenville dam. So far, it seems to be holding, albeit at a degraded capacity. The city of Sagnaw is next in line to get the flooding - no word as yet regarding what they are expecting...
love your explanation of the events most time all we get is the visual thank you and God Bless you.
This is just an exclamation point of the need for an infrastructure upgrade across all of America.
@@ffjsb The truth hurts doesn't it.
@@ffjsb Did you not see the video?
@@ffjsb- In April 2019 the American Road and Transportation Builders Association sited 47,000 bridges in poor condition and in need of urgent repairs. And that's just bridges but we've got a wall
Time for a New Deal Works Progress Administration
@@ffjsb Did you not see the video?
Thank You Juan! Finally getting some decent coverage of the thing.. we need to send you to all the disasters. You could have work in broadcast if something bad in aviation happens.. imho.. Great work as always!
I just wish that you could fly the mighty luscombe up there and get the real report! 👍😁
Please correct me, these pictures indicate the worst is yet to come. With other failures such as broken dams and other disasters we we not prepared for.
@@fredricunderhill204
You are most likely correct, and it looks like this is going to be a problem everywhere in the country not just California, so everyone should pay attention and be prepared.
David Scott,
You are correct. For years, electeds and bureaucrats have looked a preparedness such dams breaking and pandemics and retirement funding as a cookie jar to be raided with impunity. Well, there are real needs and no funding.
@@fredricunderhill204
Exactly! Their cookies are going to cost many people their lives.
David Scott
This would be an excellent time to fly The Mighty Luscombe to expose the weaknesses as explained below
Excellent synopsis of this flood event. Far better than most reports from the national media. +++++