Friday, May 22nd

Amid cleanup, flooding in Michigan prompts more evacuations

In this Wednesday, May 20, 2020, photo, people survey the flood damage to the Curtis Road Bridge in Edenville, Mich., over the Tittabawassee River. The bridge sits just south of Wixom Lake where the dams failed. (Neil Blake/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

SPAULDING TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Another round of evacuations took place Friday in Central Michigan further downriver from two dams that were overwhelmed earlier this week by floodwaters, allowing torrents of water to gorge a river.

About a dozen people in Spaulding Township have been evacuated, others left their homes on their own and some refused to leave despite warnings, Fire Chief Tom Fortier said Friday morning.

Flooding was occurring along the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers that flow into the Saginaw River, which is backing up with water.

Saginaw County's Spaulding Township is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Detroit and southeast of the Edenville and Sanford dams that were overwhelmed Tuesday night after heavy rains. The flooding forced about 11,000 people in the Midland area to evacuate their homes.

A number of homes were damaged, but no injuries have been reported.

Tim Evans, owner of Fieros Forever, inspects the damage to his Lamborghini Diablo kit car that lay in a muddy ditch near downtown Sanford, Mich., Thursday, May 21, 2020. Evans lost several vehicles due to flooding that occurred after the Sanford dam failed earlier in the week. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an emergency declaration authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

Midland, which includes the headquarters of Dow Chemical Co., was hard-hit. The floodwaters mixed with containment ponds at a Dow Chemical Co. plant and could displace sediment from a downstream Superfund site, though the company said there was no risk to people or the environment.

Midland City Manager Brad Kaye warned that it could take four or five days for the floodwaters to recede.

"A lot of that water has come down to the Saginaw River," said Fortier, adding that the flow is bottle-necking in the Saginaw River and pushing water back into Spaulding Township.

"The river levels are so high they are trying to find the lowest spot and that happens to be us," he said.

Over the past day or so, the National Guard and fire departments have helped fill upward of 3,000 sandbags to hold some of the water back, but in some areas it still is 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) deep, Fortier said.

Wixom Lake in Midland County's Hope Township lost most of its water when the nearly century-old Edenville Dam failed. The dam has been the target of lengthy investigations by federal regulators.

Officials have said the Sanford Dam, built in 1925, was overflowing during the flooding but the extent of structural damage wasn't yet known.

Flood damage to Michigan Highway 30 is seen at Wixom Lake in Michigan, on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, where floodwaters took out the bridge. (Neil Blake/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

A water-logged flag lies in the mud, Thursday, May 21, 2020, in Sanford, Mich. A Sanford resident picked the flag up after this photo was taken and respectfully dropped it over its pole. (Neil Blake/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

Law enforcement officers patrol downtown Midland, Mich. in a rescue boat Thursday, May 21, 2020. Severe flooding was caused by dam failures upstream. (Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News via AP)

Sanford, Mich., residents survey the destruction in downtown Sanford, Thursday, May 21, 2020. The downtown area was decimated by severe flooding caused by dam failures upstream. (Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News via AP)

A portion of Jones Road in Billings, Mich., is completely gone Thursday, May 21, 2020, after it was decimated by flooding caused by dam failures. (Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News via AP)

Sanford, Mich., resident Chris Conley points something out to his family members as they survey the destruction in downtown Sanford, Thursday, May 21, 2020. Much of the downtown was decimated by severe flooding caused by dam failures upstream. (Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News via AP)

Chunks of asphalt rest broken apart after flood waters decimated the bridge in downtown Sanford, Mich., on Thursday, May 21, 2020. After dam failures upstream this week, water flooded the village, destroying homes and businesses, uprooting trees and crumbling bridges and infrastructure. (Jake May/MLive.com/The Flint Journal via AP)

Sanford resident Kendra Tucker wipes away muck after finding a family photo for her aunt and uncle after their home was washed away in flood waters, Thursday, May 21, 2020, in Sanford, Mich. Scores of displaced people are staying in shelters after flooding overwhelmed two dams, submerged homes and washed out roads in Central Michigan. (Jake May/MLive.com/The Flint Journal via AP)

Home owner Glenn Hart describes where the water level was next to Wixom Lake, in Edenville Township, Mich., Thursday, May 21, 2020, before the Edenville Dam failed and flood waters rushed south. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

View of Wixom Lake, Thursday, May 21, 2020, after the water was drained after the Edenville Dam failed and flood waters rushed south, ravaging the landscape in its path, in Edenville Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

View of Wixom Lake, Thursday, May 21, 2020, after the water was drained after the Edenville Dam failed and flood waters rushed south, ravaging the landscape in its path, in Edenville Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)