Michigan Flooding Videos, Pictures: Thousands Evacuate As Broken Dams Bring ‘Catastrophic’ Floods

Thousands of Michigan residents have been issued evacuation orders Wednesday as flash flooding reached “catastrophic” levels.

Two dams north of Detroit — Edenville Dam and Sanford Dam — collapsed late Tuesday, prompting alerts from the National Weather Service and drowning communities along the Tittabawassee River in water that crested as high as 38 feet by 8 p.m.

“To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable. But we are here, and to the best of our ability, we are going to navigate this together,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement.

Whitmer has said that parts of Midland County could be under nine feet of water Wednesday evening.

At the urging of officials, over 10,000 residents have been affected by evacuation orders. Amidst the panic, people are being urged to maintain social distancing procedures and wear protective masks to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus. To this end, shelters are also testing new arrivals and providing protective wear.

“Extremely dangerous flooding is ongoing along the Tittabawassee River in Midland County due to catastrophic failures at the Edenville and Sanford dams,” the National Weather Service said in their report on the situation. “Flood Warnings are in effect, and anyone near the river should seek higher ground immediately, avoid driving into floodwaters, and continue to heed evacuation orders given by local authorities.”

Whitmer took office in January 2019 after campaigning for better infrastructure. The Edenville and Sanford dams were built in 1924 and 1925, respectively. In 2018, Edenville was evaluated by state officials and rated as “unsatisfactory.” It is unclear what, if anything, was done to improve its condition. In the same round of inspections, Sanford was rated as “fair.”