PORTLAND, Mich. — All it took was 2 hours for water from the Grand River to rise to dangerous levels, forcing people living on Water Street to evacuate immediately.
"You could just tell how fast everything was filling up," said Jim Hilligan, owner of ConfluxCity Brewing Company. "It was insane."
"It sounded like a freight train," said Rick Smith, who lives on Water Street. "It was that loud."
Rick was at work when he got a call from his daughter, telling him his house was almost underwater. He rushed home to save his two girls, who were in danger.
"We got to the house, got what we could, grabbed everyone and got out of here."
He says people living upriver told him they were evacuated yesterday, but no one warned people on Water Street.
"If she had the ice chunks there then, I don't understand why they think it wouldn't happen down here," he said. "They said they would open the dam but it didn't work."
Rick works right down the road and tells me he loves where he lives, and everything he has is at his house.
"Any memories, and stuff we might put in the basement, it's gone."
His basement was not the only thing damaged. He says he lost his car, and some furniture was swept away.
Despite his life changing in a matter of hours, rick doesn't forget about what's most important.
"Nobody got hurt as far as I know," he said. "So that's real good."
Rick tells FOX 47 News that while everything in his basement is a total loss, there's still time to move things from the main floor to the upstairs. He says his family will have to move.
