Two breached dams caused by several days of rainfall and rising water forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in mid-Michigan, where the governor said one downtown could be “under approximately 9 feet of water” by morning.
“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 left home early Tuesday morning. “All of a sudden we heard the fire truck sirens going north toward the dam.”
M-30, the state highway trunkline that’s also the main road through Edenville and the route Sias was using to evacuate, was backed up with vehicles. “In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately 9 feet of water. We are anticipating an historic high water level,” Whitmer said late Tuesday night.
Earlier, Midland County 911 sent out a series of alerts saying the Edenville and Sanford dams were at risk of failing. Floodwaters swelled quickly on Sunday when 1 inch of rain fell within 15 minutes, swamping streets and sending water into basements and homes, including Mayor David Uran’s residence.
In Chicago, water that flooded some areas downtown was receding on Tuesday, but Larry Langford, a fire department spokesman, said that he did not expect power to be restored at the iconic Willis Tower for days because the rains caused the building’s subbasements to fill with as much as 25 feet of water. The building was closed to tenants and visitors.
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