Flooding in Bay County Prompts Evacuations of Shoreline Area
Some Bay County residents are being advised to evacuate their homes after lakeshore flooding occurred due to two days of solid rains and high winds.
A lakeshore flooding advisory from the National Weather Service was in effect for several hours from Wednesday, September 22 through Thursday, September 23 as rain and heavy winds affected the area. 20 to 30 mile an hour winds with gusts as high as 40 miles an hour area creating large waves coming off the Saginaw Bay, potentially causing damage to docks, boat lifts, or watercraft anchored along the shoreline as well as shoreline flooding and erosion.
Residents in the Wenonah Beach area were asked to leave their homes as streets and yards flooded with water coming off the bay. Downed power lines in the water also created additional hazards.
The Bangor Township Hall is set up for those who must evacuate those areas. The Bay County Road commission has been dispatched to close roads due to the flooding.
Flooding has also been reported along the Saginaw and Kawkawlin rivers.
Showers are expected to last throughout the day as a strong, upper level low-pressure system continues to dump rain on the region and bring in blustery, northeast winds. Winds are expected to be around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Scattered showers will continue Friday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Wednesday and Thursday’s winds also created power outages in areas of Bay and Arenac counties, knocking out power to several thousand in the Standish area, plus Bay City’s west side and Essexville. Most of the power has been restored, though some scattered outages remain in Hampton, Bangor and Portsmouth townships. There are also scattered outages in the Saginaw area and down to Flint.
