Residents living in the area below a Michigan dam have been urged to “evacuate now!” as water levels are rapidly rising.
Newaygo County Emergency Services warned residents living in the Muskegon River floodplain below Croton Dam on Thursday morning to quickly evacuate as water levels continue to rise.
“This is a rapidly developing situation,” the agency wrote. “Watch for rapidly changing water levels.”
The agency warned anyone choosing to remain in the floodplain that public safety services will not be available until conditions become safe to respond. People living in the impacted areas can also expect to lose power.
“The rising river level and the speed at which it’s rising — we haven’t seen it rise this fast in prior events,” Newaygo County Sheriff Bob Mendham told News 8 Thursday morning. “One of the big problems that we’re experiencing is road washouts, and so our concern is that people will become stranded because a road is washed out.”
Emergency responders have already had a hard time reaching some areas because of the water.
“We’ve got deputies and different fire departments out making contact with residents in those low-lying areas, but there’s also been several residents that we’ve just been unable to get to because of the water levels,” Mendham said.
Officials said they have no concerns about the safety of Croton Dam, but that the area downstream is prone to flooding.
Six of Croton Dam’s gates were open Thursday morning, allowing for a quick stream of water to rush through. Locals told News 8 that on a typical day, only one or two gates are open.
As of Thursday morning, Muskegon River had reached 12.07 feet near Croton Dam, which is considered “major” flooding. All public access sites along the Muskegon River below Croton Dam are closed.
Officials expect that Muskegon River levels will crest Friday night and Saturday morning.
The urgent warning comes days after residents near the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex were warned they may soon need to evacuate amid rising water levels. On Monday, the Cheboygan County Sheriff's Office issued a warning noting that the dam’s water levels had reached the “READY” mark of the state’s emergency “Ready, Set, Go” safety protocol.
The river was at 5.28 inches below the top of the dam Thursday afternoon, prompting the sheriff’s office to update the local alert status to level 2, or the “set” stage in the Ready, Set, Go protocol.
If conditions worsen, local leaders may issue a “go” alert, which means to evacuate the area immediately.
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