It started innocently enough. B-93, Clear Channel’s country music station in Grand Rapids decided to have a concert at the Ionia County fairgrounds on June 20th.
The day of the concert, an estimated 60-80,000 fans showed up from all over the country. (Nobody listens to radio any more?). About 8,000 cars were parked at the fairgrounds parking lot (at $15 each). (the main industry in Ionia is a large prison complex)
The National Weather Service had issued flood warnings due to heavy rains, and by 5 AM were predicting the nearby Grand River was going to flood. By 9AM, the NWS said the river would crest at 17.5 feet (it ultimately crested at 18.5 feet).
Clear Channel and the local officials went ahead with the concert. It became apparent that the flood was going to be a major problem by early afternoon, but they let the concert go on until it was way too late. About 1,000 cars were submerged under flood water, and the access roads to the fairground parking lot were under water. This was the sixth time since Christmas the parking lot was under water.
The fans are now in the process of recovering their cars and negotiating with their insurance companies. Video here