Photos: Heavy Rain Brings Flooding to East Lansing
A large rain storm left cars mostly submerged and streets flooded in East Lansing Saturday morning.
Flooding has been a top issue in the city in recent years, as previous storms have brought widespread flooding to basements of East Lansing homes and created hazardous road conditions. Saturday’s storm comes a day before the city stops accepting feedback for its wet weather resiliency plan, an initiative that is studying the city’s flood vulnerabilities with the goal of identifying solutions.
A large rain storm the morning of Saturday, April 4, 2026 brought widespread flooding to East Lansing. (Lucas Day for ELi) 
More than a dozen cars in The Quarters apartment complex parking lot were left mostly submerged after a rain storm Saturday, April 4, 2026. (Lucas Day for ELi) 
Residents of The Quarters apartments drove their cars on the apartment’s lawn to escape the complex’s flooded parking lot. (Lucas Day for ELi) 
A resident of The Quarters apartment bails water from his vehicle after it was partially-submerged in the apartment complex’s parking lot. (Lucas Day for ELi) 
A large rain storm the morning of Saturday, April 4, 2026 brought widespread flooding to East Lansing. (Dustin DuFort Petty for ELi) 
A large rain storm the morning of Saturday, April 4, 2026 brought widespread flooding to East Lansing. (Lucas Day for ELi) 
A large rain storm the morning of Saturday, April 4, 2026 brought widespread flooding to East Lansing. (Lucas Day for ELi) 
A large rain storm the morning of Saturday, April 4, 2026 brought widespread flooding to East Lansing. (Lucas Day for ELi) 
A large rain storm the morning of Saturday, April 4, 2026 brought widespread flooding to East Lansing. (Lucas Day for ELi)
Even after the plan is developed, it will take time and money to make large changes that are necessary to address issues. At a December 2025 City Council meeting, East Lansing Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency Manager Cliff Walls said large infrastructure projects to address flooding will be expensive, and the city may need to install a stormwater management utility to pay for them.
In previous city meetings about flooding, it has been explained that large rain storms that overwhelm the city’s infrastructure and cause basement and street flooding are becoming more common due to climate change.