This is what happens when libertarians don't fund infrastructure..........Michigan

[turbinetree]

[Srkdqltr]

1. From what I understand the dam that broke was private.

It belonged to the power company and was cited many times as unsafe. Just awful for the people who live there.

[Wawannabe]

4. This happened in MO

About a decade ago. Private power co owned dam. Don’t know what their consequences were. I hope HUGE!

[Wellstone ruled]

3. My guess is,there will be more

if this Wet Weather Pattern stays in that region. Another failure of Conservative Public Policies in real time.

[gibraltar72]

5. This is what unrestricted capitalism looks like.

Now the socialism kicks in. I hope.

[Igel]

6. People assume the federal government's always been large.

It hasn't always been.

A lot of dams in the midwest were built not by the federal government. A few were built by states, but a lot were put up by private companies, local government, or a combination of the two. Some were raised by civic groups formed for the sole purpose of raising money and constructing a dam. Flood control wasn't what somebody 1000 miles away was responsible for; it was your back yard at risk, and you had a vested interest in mitigating that risk.

Over time, those dams had various fates. Some were decommissioned. Some were deeded over to various government agencies; or, if owned by government, deeded "up" to a higher level of government. In some cases the company or the civic group died or became unworkable and the remaining stakeholder assumed full control.

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/mid-michigan-dam-failed-was-cited-years-safety-violations
One of the dams was in fairly poor condition.

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/tittabawassee-river-expected-to-crest-at-38-feet-6-feet-over-previous-record
Apparently agreement was reached on the dam's sale in January.

The Sanford dam had a "fair" rating; it apparently failed because water flow/volume exceeded design tolerances.