Grand Rapids Businesses, Customers Paddle On Amid Flooding
GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) - The city of Grand Rapids remains under a State of Emergency due to flooding on the Grand River, which has swollen to above-record levels.
Hundreds of people from their homes and in business in downtown Grand Rapids and the surrounding area have been busy bailing.
Glorija Maticevic -- owner of the frozen yogurt shop "Spoonlickers" -- said the flooding was so bad, it filled the front parking lot.
"One of our customers actually kayaked out to us. He just got in his kayak and came to Spoonlickers," Maticevic told WWJ's Zahra Huber. "The water was pretty high. Cars were getting stuck in it left and right. It was a lot worse than I thought it would be."
Maticevic said back of their store is completely under water. She said she's never seen anything like it.
"Right down the road from us there's this baseball field and a covered bridge. And the water's usually ... if you jump off that bridge, it's a long jump. And the water's actually higher than like the bottom of the bridge now, and the entire baseball field is flooded."
The river peaked Sunday night in downtown Grand Rapids around 21.85 feet, topping the previous record of 19.64 feet set in 1985, the National Weather Service reported Monday. Flood stage is 18 feet.
Kent County reported that about 530 people had been evacuated from their homes by Sunday night.
