(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said he’s sending federal emergency workers to Midland, Michigan, where dam failures have flooded a Dow Inc. chemical complex and homes in a disaster that may force the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.After two days of heavy rainfall, water from Lake Wixom breached one dam yesterday evening and then another late at night. That has caused Dow to close its headquarters and the manufacturing complex while the county has evacuated 1,000 people. As water levels continue to rise, the City of Midland expects to evacuate 10,000 more.In his tweeted response, Trump used the moment to take a shot at Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The two have tussled over getting medical supplies to the state and Trump, along with Michigan Republicans, have pressed the Democrat to open businesses sooner.“We have sent our best Military & @fema Teams, already there,” Trump tweeted today, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “Governor must now ‘set you free’ to help. Will be with you soon!”Flooding in central Michigan is just the latest disaster to hit the state, whose new governor is already working to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The state is one of the hardest hit in the U.S., ranked seventh in cases of Covid-19 and fourth in the number of deaths.Better weather today has at least given the region a respite from heavy rain, but the Tittabawassee River is still expected to crest at a record 38 feet this evening, said Bridgette Gransden, Midland County administrator and controller, in a phone interview. By then, Midland will probably have to evacuate a quarter of its 40,000 residents, she said.“Midland County is not a stranger to flooding,” Gransden said. “Each flood experience is different. If we need to find other arrangements to shelter more people we will.”Of the 1,000 evacuated so far, more than 300 people have gone to five public shelters. The majority have found other places to go, Gransden said.Midland, a two-hour drive northwest of Detroit, is the very definition of a company town. Herbert Henry Dow arrived there in 1890 and founded the company, which is now the city’s major employer.The breached dams are upstream of Dow’s headquarters, forcing the chemical company to activate emergency plans as the surge of water has already reached its industrial complex. Dow “is implementing its flood preparedness plan which includes the safe shutdown of operating units on site,” the company said. For now the rising water is co-mingling with on-site containment ponds.Dow rose 1.6% to $36.22 at 12:22 p.m. in New York, amid a broader rise in the stock market.Whitmer announced an emergency declaration and told people to evacuate the area around Midland. “Downtown Midland could be under nine feet of water,” Whitmer said at a Tuesday night press conference. “To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable.”Dow said that “only essential Dow staff needed to monitor the situation and manage any issues as a result of the flooding remain on site.” Other companies with operations at Dow’s Midland complex include DuPont de Nemours Inc. and Corteva Inc. The companies are working together on their response, a Dow spokesperson said.A variety of chemical and industrial products, including Styrofoam and pesticides, are made by the companies in Midland and the surrounding region by Saginaw Bay, the leg of Lake Huron that dips into Michigan’s eastern side. Dow agreed last year to pay $77 million for environmental restoration projects to make up for pollution from the Midland plant, according to the Associated Press.The Edenville Dam, at the base of nearby Wixom Lake, failed amid high floodwaters in the area, sending water gushing through a now-gaping hole near its spillway. A second one, the Sanford Dam at the base of Sanford Lake, had also failed, according to the National Weather Service, which issued an alert advising of “extremely dangerous flash flooding” in the area.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had revoked Boyce Hydro Power LLC’s license for the Edenville project in 2018, saying it had failed to make require improvements against hazards, and reaffirmed that decision in June.The river that flows below those lakes, through Midland, crested at nearly 34 feet in a 1986 flood that saw Dow Chemical shutter nearly all of its local operations. Floodwaters in Midland are expected to reach nearly 4 feet higher than that on Wednesday, Gransden said.The prospect of catastrophic floodwaters at an industrial plant stirs up some painful memories in Michigan, which has a history of problems with toxins slipping into ground water, especially PFAS compounds. The state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy lists 91 sites with poisonous levels of the compound in the water.In January, State Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit against 17 defendants, including DuPont and 3M Co., for contaminating sites in Michigan. The companies have denied liability and vowed to defend themselves.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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(Bloomberg) — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany’s talks to bail out Deutsche Lufthansa AG are nearing completion, providing hope for positive resolution just as the embattled airline’s management warned that a multibillion-euro rescue was becoming urgent.“A decision can be expected shortly,” Merkel said late Wednesday in Berlin, adding that “intensive talks” were ongoing with the company and the European Commission, which would need to approve a deal. She declined to go into details, saying: “I would give the advice: wait for the talks to end.”In a letter to employees, the airline warned cash reserves continued to shrink while it negotiates the 9 billion-euro ($9.9 billion) rescue package. Lufthansa’s board said it hoped the government would find the “political will” for a deal that would keep the carrier competitive against international airlines.Spiegel magazine reported that Merkel, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier had reached a decision over the Lufthansa package, ending weeks of internal wrangling over the government’s position.Lufthansa gained 4.3% to 8.28 euros in late trading after regular Frankfurt hours. The stock has lost half its value this year.The German government and Lufthansa have been locked in intense negotations for weeks over the rescue plan. While the Economy Ministry internally agreed on taking a stake of 25% plus one share, the company had opposed the move, people familiar with the matter said earlier.Under German law, a 25% plus one share stake would enable the government to block motions at the company’s annual general meetings, giving it a veto over major decisions.Government StakeTo break the impasse, one scenario that’s been under discussion would see the airline sell 9.3% of new shares to the government at a steep discount. An additional convertible bond could then give the government a blocking minority, if required. Such a move would also give the state upside potential from a rebound in Lufthansa shares.Lufthansa executives have raised concerns that the terms on offer would hamstring it against international competitors who’ve received less stringent bailout conditions, a point the management board repeated in the letter. The carrier declined to comment.Lufthansa is meanwhile running out of time and money, burning through 800 million euros each month after the coronavirus grounded most of its fleet. Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said on May 5 that the company had about 4 billion euros in cash remaining.300 PlanesThe letter to employees gave further details of Lufthansa’s expected fleet reductions for the coming years. The board said it expected 300 of its aircraft would remain grounded in 2021 as demand for flying recovers only slowly, with 200 remaining out of service into 2022.Lufthansa had previously said it expected its pre-crisis fleet of around 760 aircraft to be around 100 smaller once normality returns around 2023, a forecast it stuck to in the letter.Spohr earlier this month said the airline is in “intense” talks with Airbus SE and Boeing Co. about postponing plane deliveries as he set out plans for surviving the coronavirus storm.(Recasts with Merkel comments, Lufthansa latest)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.