MISCELLANEOUS FACTS – Several thousand people have been ordered to evacuate a region of central Michigan after the overflow of two dams which raised fears of “historic” flooding on Wednesday, May 20, the authorities of this northern state announced the United States.
Heavy rains in recent days have breached the Edenville and Sanford dams, causing the waters to rise sharply from the Tittabawassee River which borders Midland, a town of 41,000 residents 200 km north of Detroit, as you can see in the video at the top of the article.
A historic water level
About 10,000 people living near the river have been called to take refuge in emergency reception centers. “We are anticipating a historic water level,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the day before, announcing that she had declared a state of emergency for the region.
Midland town center could be under nearly three meters of water on Wednesday, she said at a press conference.
This disaster comes as Michigan is one of the states in the country most affected by the coronavirus epidemic. The governor asked the evacuees to wear a mask and to respect the barrier gestures to avoid contamination in the reception centers.
Trump on standby
The meteorological services (NWS) issued a flash flood alert along the river, valid until mid-afternoon on May 20, deeming the situation “particularly dangerous”.
The chemicals group Dow, headquartered in Midland, has announced the implementation of anti-flooding measures and the closure of its sites located in the risk area. President Donald Trump assured Twitter that the White House was “closely monitoring flooding in central Michigan”.
“Stay safe and listen to local officials,” he wrote to residents.
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