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Rains Friday Flood Holland; Road Damage Significant

  • Updated:6/20/2009 10:31:23 PM - Posted: 6/20/2009 7:08:16 PM
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Holland, Mich. (WZZM) - The cleanup has begun after storms Friday night put much of Holland under water.

"I don't want to exaggerate, but I would have to think that there are several thousand homes in the city of Holland and communities surrounding Holland that right now have several feet of water in their basement," said Holland Mayor Al McGeehan.

It could take days to add up all of the damage, but Mayor McGeehan says his city is dealing with a substantial loss to its streets and drainage systems.

Right now more than half a dozen roads are closed because of standing water or structural damage.

Also the Ottawa County Health Department says no one should come in contact with the waters of Lake Macatawa because of a sewer overflow into the lake.

Conditions were getting so bad, the mayor of Holland started telling people if you're not home yet, don't try to get there.

"We put out a call that if people were shopping, if they were in downtown restaurants to stay there because they should not try to get home and in many cases they could not get back home," said McGeehan.

The weather Friday night into early Saturday morning left a lot of flooding.

Dozens of cars were under water because of all of the rain.

The city was one of the hardest hit areas in this storm and one neighborhood was particularly affected, after a sink hole sealed off the area.

At Ottogan Mobile Home Estates in Zeeland Township, there is usually one way in and out.

"Stranded. Neglected, we're secluded. How do we get help?" said one resident.

After Friday night's storms, that one way road is now destroyed, virtually sealing off hundreds of people from the outside world.

After hours of being stranded, several residents discovered a way around, going through a nearby farm, but getting back in is still a problem.

"Just absolutely a hard way for em to get in," said one resident. "Because its a two-track through a bunch of flower fields that we're using for access right now. It's not a good situation at this point."

Many people are worried about how to get people in. They say a medical emergency at this point could spell disaster.

"My biggest concern is for the elderly people and people that may need emergency services," said one resident. "There's no way to get in or out of here, how are they going to get help?"

The road into the park is considered private property, which means the owner of the park has to find a way to fix it. But first, he has to wait for the water to recede.



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