Thousands evacuated as river dams break in Michigan

Water several feet high covers streets, riverside parkland, reaching a hotel and parking lots

Midland (US) May 20: Rapidly rising water overtook dams and forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in central Michigan, where flooding struck communities along rainswollen waterways and the governor said one downtown could be “under approximately 9 feet of water” by Wednesday.

For the second time in less than 24 hours, families living along the Tittabawassee River and connected lakes in Midland County were ordered Tuesday evening to leave home. By Wednesday morning, water that was several feet high covered some streets near the river in downtown Midland, including riverside parkland, and reaching a hotel and parking lots.

The National Weather Service urged anyone near the river to seek higher ground following “castastrophic dam failures” at the Edenville Dam, about 140 miles north of Detroit, and the Sanford Dam, about seven miles downriver.

Michigan Governor Gretchen said downtown Midland, a city of 42,000 about 8 miles downstream from the Sanford Dam, faced an especially serious flooding threat. Dow Chemical Co.’s main plant sits on the city’s riverbank. “In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately 9 feet of water,” the governor said during a late Tuesday briefing. “We are anticipating an historic high water level.” Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County and urged residents threatened by the flooding to find a place to stay with friends or relatives or to seek out one of several shelters that opened across the county.

She encouraged people to do their best to take precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19, such as wearing a face covering and observing social distancing “to the best of your ability”. “This is unlike anything we’ve seen in Midland County,” she said.

“If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now.” Emergency responders went door-to-door early Tuesday morning warning residents living near the Edenville Dam of the rising water. Some residents were able to return home, only to be told to leave again following the dam’s breach several hours later.

The evacuations include the towns of Edenville, Sanford and parts of Midland, according to Selina Tisdale, spokeswoman for Midland County. “We were back at home and starting to feel comfortable that things were calming down,” said Catherine Sias, who lives about 1 mile from the Edenville Dam and first left home Tuesday morning. “All of a sudden we heard fire truck sirens going north toward the dam.” Sias, 45, said emergency alerts then began coming and people started calling to make sure she was safe.

“While packing, there were tonnes of police and fire trucks going up and down the roads,” she added. “As far as I know, all of our neighbours got out.” While driving along a jammed M-30, the state highway that’s the main road through Edenville and that crosses the river north of town, Sias saw the rushing Tittabawassee River.

“It was very dramatic, very fast and full of debris,” she said. Dow Chemical has activated its emergency operations centre and will be adjusting operations as a result of current flood stage conditions, spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said. “Dow Michigan Operations is working with its tenants and Midland County officials and will continue to closely monitor the water levels on the Tittabawassee River,” Schikorra said.