Residents near Michigan dam told to ‘evacuate now’ as river levels continue to risenewsline24

Residents living in the area beneath a Michigan dam have been urged to “evacuate now!” as water levels continue to rise.

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 in the river.

“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.

Newaygo County Sheriff Bob Mendham urged people living in the floodplain below the dam to evacuate as the water is rising rapidly.

“The rising river level and the speed at which it’s rising — we haven’t seen it rise this fast in prior events,” 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 getting reaching some areas because of the rising 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.

This is a developing story…