FREMONT, Mich. — A West Michigan county is under a state of emergency Friday.
Newaygo County officials say due to the extensive damage from heavy storms Thursday, the county will seek assistance from the state.
"Newaygo County declared a state of emergency Friday morning because of the widespread flooding issues throughout the county," said Abby Watkins, director of Newaygo County Emergency Services. "On top of that, we're expecting moderate flood levels on the Muskegon River below Croton Dam."
Watkins says some of the most flooded areas are near the northwest side of Fremont, near Martin Lake, and several homes in Brohman, which is located about 20 minutes north of White Cloud.
"Water just came from everywhere and flooded into these low-lying homes," added Watkins. "One of our challenges is to actually get a good handle on who's impacted and who's had damage because this has become so widespread."
Watkins says residents of Newaygo County who have been impacted by the flooding should logon to the Newaygo County website and report damage.
"That's helpful to use because they can self-report to us and we then will know we need to send resources," said Watkins."The information reported to the website goes directly to Emergency Services and we're sharing that immediately with Red Cross and other community partners so we can try and bring aid in to try and help some of these homeowners."
Many homeowners have been either forced to evacuate or woke up to flooded homes.
"It's been a nightmare," said Denise Bundt who, along with her husband Arnie, own a home on Martin Lake. "[Our home] is a disaster and it's not livable. There's water everywhere. There's stuff floating everywhere; it smells like sewer."
Denise says she got home Thursday at 4 p.m. and the water had risen to the patio on the front of their home. She says it didn't take long for the water to start creeping into the house, and before long, every room was flooded.
"By 7:30 last night, the whole house was full of at least a foot of water," said Denise, fighting back tears. "We've spent most of today pumping all the water out and gathering whatever belongings we could."
Rob Warnes, who lives two houses down from the Bundts, also lives in a home that faces Martin Lake. His house was completely flooded, too.
"I got up here around 5 o'clock Thursday night and the lake started to rise," said Warnes. "It was pretty frantic, trying to save everything we could.
"At some point I had to give up and go stay at a neighbors house down the street."
Warnes says the water in his house rose as high as 8 inches and went into every room of his home.
"I put my couch up on bricks but that still wasn't high enough," added Warnes. "I've been ripping out carpeting all morning. The damage is extensive."
Newaygo County officials say all of the excess water, created by the heavy rain and melting snow, is finding its way to the Muskegon River, which is expected to crest sometime Saturday.
"The state of emergency is good for seven days," said Watkins. "If the situation escalates, we can extend it in order to provide the best care that we can to our residents and respond with all of the effective resources that we have."
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