MIDLAND COUNTY, Mich. – It’s been eight months since the devastating floods in Midland County. “She did find us for a reason, I believe,” Ashley Flood said. “And so, we actually, we definitely played our part, I think.”On a cold snowy winter day, The Flood family heard a cat outside meowing for hours. “It seemed well fed and its coat was rather clean,” Ashley Flood said. They took the cat to the Humane Society of Midland County and found out the cat was micochipped.

LANSING, Mich. – Labor Day Weekend on Sanford Lake is typically filled with boats and people having fun on the water. After May’s dam failures emptied the lake, many residents are left wondering how long it’ll take to come back. Residents are still hopeful things will return to normal. The state ordered Boyce Hydro -- the owners of the dams -- to make emergency repairs Tuesday, but since the company filed for bankruptcy, the state will likely be forced to foot the bill. Edenville faces Labor Day weekend without their beloved Wixom LakeYou can watch Tim Pamplin’s full stories above in the video players above.

Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday afternoon President Donald Trump declared a major disaster area for mid-Michigan counties affected by widespread and severe flooding and dam failures in May. “Seeing the people and businesses of these communities pull together to help one another after this 500-year flooding event continues to inspire me,” Whitmer said. She later expanded her declaration to include Iosco County. Persistent steady rain resulted in excessive two-day rainfall totals reaching record levels at some locations. MORE: ‘Looked like Niagra Falls’ -- Dam that created Wixom Lake gives way, flooding mid-Michigan communitiesMultiple residents impacted by the flood have taken part of two federal class-action lawsuits filed against the dam owners.

Congress demands answers into Michigan dam failuresPublished: June 3, 2020, 5:41 pmA U.S. House of Representatives Committee is now investigating the State and Federal Government’s oversight of the dam failure in Midland County.

DETROIT A U.S. House of Representatives Committee is now investigating the State and Federal Governments oversight of the dam failure in Midland County. Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingle and Fred Upton, along with the House Energy and Commerce Committee is demanding answers within two weeks to specific questions about how the Edenville Dam was inspected and allowed to operate. How did EGLE label the dam in fair structural condition when it took authority back in October 2018? A copy of Dingell and Uptons letter to FERC is available here. A copy of Dingell and Uptons letter to EGLE is available here.

MIDLAND COUNTY, Mich. – On Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was back in Midland County to announce an investigation into why the Edenville and Sanford dams gave way. A week later, piles of debris lined neighborhoods. READ: Shocking mid-Michigan flood pictures show ravaged roads, underwater houses, floating carsNeither of them know if their homes are stable enough to move back into. MORE: More than 800 volunteers visit Midland to help flood victims despite pandemicWatch the video above to hear from Coulson and Mills.

Debris line neighborhoods in mid-Michigan as community deals with damage from devastating floodsPublished: May 27, 2020, 5:17 pmOn Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was back in Midland County to announce an investigation into why the Edenville and Sanford dams gave way.

Gretchen Whitmer held a news conference on Wednesday to provide an update on the state’s response to the historic flooding event in Midland County. “This flooding forced thousands to evacuate their homes, destroyed public infrastructure, ruined homes and businesses, and caused major natural resource damage,” said Governor Whitmer. The Kriegers and Sperlings own adjacent properties and homes on the banks of the Tittabawassee River less than a mile south of the Edenville Dam. Whitmer extended the state of emergency for Midland County to include three additional counties last weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump approved a federal emergency declaration for Midland County last Thursday.

Sanford woman kayaks to floating home swept away by flood to recover mother’s ashesPublished: May 23, 2020, 11:13 pmParsch and her friends are looking for her home in Sanford after it was swept away by the floods. When they first returned to the home’s location, they discovered only the foundation remained.

SANFORD, Mich. When the massive flooding overtook mid-Michigan earlier this week, Kathy Parsch was the last person to evacuate the village of Sanford. Nearly 11,000 mid-Michigan residents were forced to evacuate their homes due to a massive flooding emergency triggered by dam failures on Tuesday. READ: Catastrophic flooding, evacuations in mid-Michigan as dams fail: What to knowNow Parsch and her friends are looking for her home in Sanford after it was swept away by the floods. Parsch and her friends found kayaks laying around and got into the water. The Sanford woman was on a mission to recover her mothers ashes that were left inside the home when she evacuated.

Homeowners survey devastation of Midland County floodsPublished: May 21, 2020, 12:24 pmAuthorities were assessing damage Thursday as floodwaters from heavy rains that overtook two dams retreated in some mid-Michigan communities and continued to threaten others further downriver.

Gretchen Whitmer has formally requested a federal disaster declaration to open aid to assist in responding to historic flooding in Midland County. “Over the past two days, a major rainfall event in mid-Michigan led to the failure of two dams and severe flooding in affected areas. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate as water surged into their streets, homes, and businesses in the county of Midland,” said Gov. The governor then called on President Trump to declare an emergency for Midland County on an expedited basis. More: Tittibiwassee River crests at 35 feet, could still be days before waters recedeOn May 19, Governor Whitmer declared a State of Emergency in Midland County.

DETROIT President Trump has approved a request for federal aid in response to historic flooding in Midland County. Whitmer sent a letter to President Trump late Wednesday, requesting the declaration. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding. The governor then called on President Trump to declare an emergency for Midland County on an expedited basis. More: Tittibiwassee River crests at 35 feet, could still be days before waters recedeOn May 19, Governor Whitmer declared a State of Emergency in Midland County.

Homes, businesses, bridges and more destroyed by flooding after two dam failures. RELATED: Dam failures lead to devastating floods across mid-MichiganThe green roof of Midland Farmer’s Market is the only part that’s visible from under eight to 10 feet of water. "We just want to get going.”Mark and Kathy Hatzner are one of the 80 vendors that would have been at the market, making money for the first time in months. “I’m thinking about the people and their houses," Kathy Hatzner said. "Their homes are destroyed.”The long term damage- - both physically and fiscally -- can’t be known yet, but Lyon knows they’ll rebuild again.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Sanford Dam has been breached, but has not broken. The towns of Edenville, Sanford and parts of Midland have been evacuated, according to Selina Tisdale, spokeswoman for the city of Midland. There have been no reported injuries or fatalities due to the flooding, and no reports of anyone trapped by the high water, Tisdale said Wednesday. Whitmer said Downtown Midland, a city of 42,000 about 8 miles downstream from the Sanford Dam, faced an especially serious flooding threat. The evacuations include the towns of Edenville, Sanford and parts of Midland, according to Selina Tisdale, spokeswoman for Midland County.

BEAVERTON, Mich. – After dam failures, parts of mid-Michigan could be under 9 feet of water, Gov. Whitmer provides update on flooding, dam breach in mid-MichiganA State of Emergency has been declared for Midland County after two dams failed. The Edenville Dam broke and the Sanford Dam was breached late last night, but it did not break. When the Edenleville Dam failed and the Sanford Dam was breached, water took out bridges, houses, businesses and more. Some residents have compared it to the flooding in 2017 and 1986, but they believe the dam failures are worse.

Historic flooding: State of Emergency declared in Midland CountyPublished: May 20, 2020, 12:14 pmFor the second time in less than 24 hours, families living along the Tittabawassee River and connected lakes in Midland County were ordered Tuesday evening to leave home. By Wednesday morning, water that was several feet high covered some streets near the river in downtown Midland, including riverside parkland, and reaching a hotel and parking lots.

But how much rain fell, and how historic was it? That amount of rain falling at Midland in a forty-eight hour period is statistically expected to occur only about once every twenty-five years, so the fact that this rain fell in thirty-six hours means that it was a 25-to-50 year event. Adding insult to injury is that this rain came after another inch to inch-and-a-half of rain fell last Thursday into Friday. I've told you many times in the past that global warming does not CAUSE individual weather events. In this case, extreme precipitation events are definitely occurring more often, and there is a very simple reason why: as Earth warms, more ocean water is evaporating into the atmosphere.

This photo shows a view of a dam on Wixom Lake in Edenville, Mich., Tuesday, May 19, 2020. The Edenville dam, in Michigans Gladwin and Midland counties, includes a series of earthen embankments totaling about 6,600 feet (2,012 meters) long, with a maximum height of nearly 55 feet (16.8 meters). The Edenville dam's spillway capacity was only about 50 percent of the probable maximum flood, the commission said. Among its other violations: performing unauthorized dam repairs and earth-moving and failing to file an adequate public safety plan, maintain recreation facilities or monitor water quality. The record demonstrates that there is no reason to believe that Boyce Hydro will come into compliance," the commission added.