Michigan floods force 10,000 from homes as two dams breached
Dow Chemical’s main plant threatened by ‘historic’ rising water levels
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency in her state’s Midland County after two dams were breached, causing floods in residential areas and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.
In a briefing on Tuesday night, Governor Whitmer said downtown Midland, a city of 42,000 about eight miles downstream from the Sanford Dam, faced an especially serious flooding threat.
“In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately nine feet of water,” said Ms Whitmer. “We are anticipating an historic high water level.”
Midland’s riverbank is the home of the main plant operated by Dow Chemical, which the company said is now putting emergency measures in place.
“Dow has activated its local emergency operations centre,” the company wrote in a statement, “and is implementing its flood preparedness plan which includes the safe shutdown of operating units on site.
“Only essential Dow staff needed to monitor the situation and manage any issues as a result of the flooding remain on site.”
On Wednesday morning, the river swelled to a record 34.4 feet in Midland, breaking its previous record of 33.9. It is expected to crest at some 38 feet by the end of the day.
The Weather Service urged anyone near the river to seek higher ground following “catastrophic dam failures” at the Edenville Dam, about 140 miles north of Detroit, and the Sanford Dam, about seven miles downriver.
Families living along the Tittabawassee River and connected lakes in Midland County were ordered to leave home on Tuesday evening, the second such order in 24 hours.
The evacuations come as Michigan remains under a stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
As Ms Whitmer said at her Tuesday briefing, “to go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable.”
Additional reporting by Associated Press
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments