A Flood Warning is in effect for the Muskegon River south of Croton, and National Weather Service forecasts say flooding there may be worse than the area saw in 2018. The river is expected to crest from Friday to Saturday.
For Hyla Kooiman, the warning is landing on land her family has held since 1940. Standing near the water, she pointed to a line of trees and said, "That little row of trees… that's the edge of where the river should be," then added that "the darker color tree over there is right on the edge of the bank." Her gate closing off the home from the road was already flooded, and she said the family had put a couch up on a table to get ready.
The same race against the water is playing out at Jason Nurmi's home. He said the closets had been completely removed, and that he had moved cots, furniture, chairs, dining room sets, his refrigerator and other household items out ahead of the rise. On Tuesday, he said the river was around 13 and a half feet, and once it reaches about 14 and a half feet it will be at his foundation. The forecast, he said, was for 16 and a half feet, which he expects would leave about a foot of water in the house.
Nurmi said, "You're going to have standing water in the house, and you just can't live in it with standing water." He said this would be the fourth time his family has had to evacuate since 2017, and that the river was not at this level in 2018. The warning reflects a stretch of river that has become familiar with water and with the work of pulling a home apart before it can be damaged again, but this time the forecast carries a sharper edge: higher water than last time and a crest still days away.
That gap is what has people moving now. By Wednesday afternoon, the water had risen significantly higher at the nearby boat launch, and with the crest still expected Friday to Saturday, the safest judgment is that more homes along the Muskegon River south of Croton will have to stay cleared out until the water begins to fall.