Emergency officers in Manawa, Wis., have been rescuing individuals stranded on flooded roads on Friday after a river overflowing from torrential rain spilled over a neighborhood dam.
The Little Wolf River started overpowering the Manawa Dam round 12:30 p.m. native time after the world close to the dam obtained greater than 5 inches of rain in about 4 hours on Friday morning, mentioned Kurt Kotenberg, a meteorologist on the Nationwide Climate Service in Inexperienced Bay, Wis.
Emergency officers have been rescuing drivers who had turn into stranded whereas attempting to flee, Mr. Kotenberg mentioned. “Individuals have been in vehicles on roads that have been flooded,” he mentioned. Some have been rescued “standing on the hoods of their vehicles,” he added.
As of Friday afternoon, Mr. Kotenberg mentioned there had been no experiences of deaths or accidents from the flooding.
Heavy rain within the Midwest in current weeks has drawn consideration to the vulnerability of dams within the area. The Rapidan Dam in southern Minnesota got here near failing final month.
The Manawa Dam is close to the northern aspect of the Wisconsin metropolis, on the sting of the Manawa Mill Pond. Town, dwelling to roughly 1,400 individuals, is about 50 miles west of Inexperienced Bay. Mr. Kotenberg mentioned it could take time to find out whether or not the dam had cracked.
In an advisory, the Climate Service urged Manawa residents to hunt increased floor if doable. Mr. Kotenberg clarified that residents ought to attempt to take action whereas sheltering in place and never attempt to flee by flooded roads.
In a message posted on Fb, the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Workplace mentioned rescue personnel have been “diligently working” to assist susceptible individuals in Manawa and urged residents to keep away from getting into town.
In one other message, officers urged residents within the affected space to boil faucet water earlier than ingesting it, saying “the general public ought to assume the water is unsafe to drink as a consequence of contaminants.”
