News Severe Flooding in Upper Peninsula of Michigan and surrounding areas. (1 Viewer)

[Saint_Ward]

Flash flooding wipes out roads, damages buildings in Houghton, Michigan

VIDEO: Flash flooding wreaks havoc in Houghton


About 6-7 inches of rain fell in a short time throughout Houghton County. Michigan Tech University is up there. I recognize some spots where they've shown flooding and buckled roads. I"m not sure if one of my professors still lives there, but his house is one of the big ones shown. A few fraternities are at the bottom of Agate Street.

Houghton/Hancock are old mining towns. So, lots of rock, dirt and trees. Not sure if any of the old mines flooded and caused the sink holes underneath people, or just roads being washed out.

Early pictures I saw from friends showed some School office buildings flooded, like 2-3 feet in the first floor. Some buildings have basements. A few are built on hills, so you can have as many as 7 floors below the "ground floor".

I think for the first time ever, they cancelled the Summer Youth Programs (camps for HS kids).

Major Flash Flooding Wipes Out Roads in Michigan | The Weather Channel

Storms wash out roads in Houghton, Hancock in the U.P.

Photos show Michigan's U.P. devastation after flash flooding emergency

At a minimum, it looks like Agate street will have to be completely rebuilt, including water/sewer.

Also, US 41 (the main highway) that runs through that area, from Chassell to Houghton has multiple areas wiped out. That means no fuel trucks for a while, no logging getting out. It's a massive logging route, not even talking about the university its self and some people who live a bit south on US 41.


This is down by the canal, the lowest part of the area.

Not sure where this is exactly..

 

[Saint_Ward]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. That's where I went to college.

 

[Dan in Lafayette]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. That's where I went to college.

The fighting Huskies.

Are they still mining copper and iron ore in Michigan.

 

[Saint_Ward]

The fighting Huskies.

Are they still mining copper and iron ore in Michigan.

I think most copper shut down 50+ years ago. Iron for sure though, but a bit further south. My sophomore year, we visited a huge iron mine. Those are some big Tonka trucks.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Looks like campus is mostly good. Just the admin building flooded.

School re opens tuesday.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

that 2nd pic (Agate St) looks almost as bad as some of the streets in Lakeview

 

[Goatman Saint]

The fighting Huskies.

Are they still mining copper and iron ore in Michigan.

Copper has been shut down now for about 40 years. There is a new deposit that they are working on in upper Michigan which could restart copper mining as soon as it works through regulations. There is at this time only 1 iron mine still in operation in upper Michigan as everything has been played out. The last mine has maybe 8-10 years left according to what I read.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Copper has been shut down now for about 40 years. There is a new deposit that they are working on in upper Michigan which could restart copper mining as soon as it works through regulations. There is at this time only 1 iron mine still in operation in upper Michigan as everything has been played out. The last mine has maybe 8-10 years left according to what I read.

Empire mine may reopen.

That's the one I visited. Didnt realize they closed two years ago.

 

[Dan in Lafayette]

If copper mining was uneconomic 40-50 yrs ago, it may be economic now that copper prices 7-8 times higher per pound for the last 10-15 yrs.

From the looks of those pictures a lot of places got waterfront property the hard way. Looks like it will take a lot of time to get things back to normal.

 

[Goatman Saint]

If copper mining was uneconomic 40-50 yrs ago, it may be economic now that copper prices 7-8 times higher per pound for the last 10-15 yrs.

From the looks of those pictures a lot of places got waterfront property the hard way. Looks like it will take a lot of time to get things back to normal.

Lundin Mining Corporation - Eagle Mine, USA - Tue Jun 19, 2018
The only active copper mine in upper Michigan. It was recently awarded (10/17/17) permits to go under the river to a much lager underground deposit.

To the best of my knowledge (casual mine interest) the other copper mines are essentially played out and not worth it to restart as the ore is gone. Unless there is a situation such as in Butte MT where the increasing price of copper basically allows them to profitably mine high grade dirt for the next 40 years, those mines are done producing.

 

[Dan in Lafayette]

Lundin Mining Corporation - Eagle Mine, USA - Tue Jun 19, 2018
The only active copper mine in upper Michigan. It was recently awarded (10/17/17) permits to go under the river to a much lager underground deposit.

To the best of my knowledge (casual mine interest) the other copper mines are essentially played out and not worth it to restart as the ore is gone. Unless there is a situation such as in Butte MT where the increasing price of copper basically allows them to profitably mine high grade dirt for the next 40 years, those mines are done producing.

The original lodes must have been quite lucrative to have lasted until depleted. As a geologist, I find this interesting. Most folks don't associate the upper Mid-West with mining, but it had a lot to do with our burgeoning steel industry with all of the hematite coming out Michigan and Minnesota