As Hurricane Beryl rains down on Michigan, much of West MI is under a flood watch sustained rainfall is suspected throughout the Midwest. Since making landfall as a category 1 hurricane, Beryl has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone. However, that has not stopped it from dumping nearly 6 inches of rain across parts of the state.
With this flooding, it brings to mind Michigan’s worst flooding on record: the Great Log Jam of 1883. A definitively Grand Rapids flood that saw an unreal number of logs heading straight down the Grand River would have destroyed the economy of the area were it not for the acts of brave lumbermen in the area.
The Great Log Jam of 1883
After a summer of consistent rainfall, areas in the region saw mass flooding that eventually caused the Grand River to rise to record highs. This also led to logs from lumberyards breaking free of their enclosures, falling into the river, and creating a pileup of unseen…..