GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The city of Grand Rapids is monitoring the Grand River as water levels go up and move fast right through downtown.
Grand Rapids Public Safety issued a flood warning as rain keeps coming down.
Many residents are coming down to see just how the river is right now, looking to see just how high the water is on Thursday afternoon.
The situation of the river rising has many thinking about the 2013 flood.
"This is unbelievable. So much water, so it's with so much force. It's just a shocker, just surprised. I never seen anything like it before," Daniel Lopez said.
Guadalupe Diaz was out taking some photos after not coming out here in 2013 to see it with her own eyes.
"I think last time was a little higher," Diaz said. "We were surprised. Just surprised. I haven't seen it this high in a while."
The Grand River is roughly 14.5 ft on Thursday evening, but experts forecast it will reach 19.3 ft by Monday afternoon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The record is 21.9 ft, according to NOAA.
Ever since that flood, the city has done some work to prevent another flood like that one. The city invested over $5 million in floodprotection improvements, including raising the flood wall.
In 2023, FEMA updated its flood zones, which was a first in decades. These new maps were adopted to make sure people knew they were in the flood zone.
"A fish jumped up off the fish ladder, got sucked on the sidewalk right there, and then pulled away," Andrew Karelse said.
Lopez said he saw enough.
"This is out of control. But, you know, it's Mother Nature. We got to deal with it, you know," Lopez said.
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