Michigan flooded while Trump tweeted then refused to wear a mask on camera

While Trump threatened Michigan over voting by absentee ballots then visited the Great Lakes State while refusing to wear a mask on camera, a different disaster hit the state, a double dam break followed by a flood. MLive summarized the story in "A whole town destroyed" Michigan flooding and dam failures leaves path of destruction.

A look at the a week many mid-Michigan residents will not soon forget after heavy rain and dam failures resulted in massive flooding across the region.
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How did the dam fail? What happens next? When the Edenville Dam failed on May 19th, 2020, it started a chain of events that would devastate thousands of lives, homes, and property. So much so that President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration throughout mid-Michigan hit with catastrophic flooding.

This is another story about weather meeting neglected infrastructure, although I could make a case of it being climate, something I first hinted at in the title of I know weather isn't climate, but check out these videos! They show that flooding is normal for Michigan this time of year. On the other hand, I observed a trend in Detroit flooding one year later five years ago.

It fit a pattern that's emerged since I began keeping this blog.

[C]limate change...[is] expressing itself as increased precipitation, including 2013 being the wettest year in Michigan history, 2013-2014 being the snowiest year in Detroit's history, or 2011 being the rainiest year in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Toledo.

In addition, this month's flood resulted from the second highest single-day rainfall in Detroit history. Welcome to four precipitation records in four years.

Since then, another precipitation record has been set, as I mentioned in Snowfall of the century for Detroit on Groundhog Day.

The third-biggest snowstorm in metro Detroit's recorded history has plows humming among tall snow piles on roadways across southeastern Michigan this morning.
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With 16.7 inches of snow since the storm arrived early Sunday, it's the most to fall since Dec. 1 and 2 in 1974, when 19.3 inches fell, as recorded at Detroit Metro Airport. The snowiest was April 6, 1886, when 24.5 inches were reported...

Add the snowiest month in Detroit history and that's now six precipitation records in four years. As I wrote in the first entry I wrote about the storm, welcome to weather weirding in the 400 ppm world.

I haven't been keeping as close track of Michigan precipitation records since then, as this blog has become more national and international in its focus, but it wouldn't surprise me if the state has racked up more in the past five years.

All of this is making my wife and I feel like a mini-apocalypse has descended on Michigan with floods and political attacks on top of COVID-19 pandemic and record unemployment with experts predicting worse to come. We're not alone. In her interview on MSNBC, Rep. Debbie Dingell Reacts [To] Devastating MI Flooding And Trump Visit To Ford Plant, Dingell expressed much the same sentiment.

President Trump is heading to Michigan today after threatening the state and making false claims about voter fraud as flooding devastates the state. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell joins Stephanie Ruhle to react.

At least he's not threatening to withhold disaster relief now, as the caption for the MLive video reported.

Speaking of the pandemic, Governor Whitmer extended both the stay at home order and state of emergency. WDIV reported that as part of Michiganders react to extension of stay-at-home order

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s stay-at-home order until June 12 and the state of emergency until June 19.

The pandemic response even overwhelmed what would have been the focus of the clip in normal times, Aquaman and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa visiting metro Detroit. Even he wore a mask on the way out. Welcome to celebrity in a time of plague.