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‘Midland could be under 9 feet of water’: Gov. Whitmer urges residents to evacuate

Breached dam forces evacuation of 10,000

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave an update Tuesday night regarding the state’s response to dam conditions and flooding in mid-Michigan.

A breached dam caused by several days of rainfall and rising water has forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in mid-Michigan.

READ: Evacuations underway in mid-Michigan after Edenville Dam breaks

Whitmer urged residents in Midland County to evacuate as soon as possible. She said both the south and west side of Midland had been evacuated.

  • Watch Whitmer’s full press conference above

“Please, get somewhere safe now,” Whitmer said. “This is serious.”

She asked residents to either go stay with a relative or friend. If they didn’t have a place to stay shelters were made available.

LIST: Areas where residents must evacuate in mid-Michigan due to flooding after Edenville Dam breaks

Watch the report from Local 4 News at 11 below:

Residents who must leave their homes can go to shelters at:

  • Midland High School at 1301 Eastlawn
  • Meridian Junior High School at 3475 N. Meridian Road (11:09 p.m. update - this location has closed)
  • Bullock Creek High School at 1420 S. Badour
  • West Midland Family Center at 4011 W Isabella

“In the next 12 to 15 hours downtown Midland could be under 9 feet of water,” Whitmer said.

Officials are anticipating a historic high water level. The state’s emergency operations center has been fully activated.

“I will continue to monitor this situation closely,” Whitmer said.

For more information you can visit Midland911.org or cityofmidlandMI.gov.

Watch viewer video below:

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About the Author
Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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