Overview
- Cheboygan’s water level, which rose Thursday to about 5.76 inches below the dam crest, triggered the county’s Level 2 “set” alert that tells residents to pack and be ready to leave under the Ready, Set, Go system.
- Conditions improved Friday as state police reported the level about 7.32 inches below the top with pumps running and the dam system back online, yet officials kept evacuation readiness and state emergency operations in place.
- In West Michigan, Newaygo County ordered people in the Muskegon River floodplain below Croton Dam to evacuate Thursday, cut electricity in the zone, and opened a shelter at the county Commission on Aging in White Cloud.
- State police said Saturday that flooding near Black Lake caused a road washout and closed a bridge on Five Mile Point Road, and they asked evacuees to hang a piece of fabric on their door to show they had left.
- Crews have removed dam gates, raised the US-23 bascule bridge, and deployed two 24-inch pumps that can move about 20,000 gallons per minute, while flooded homes and shops in Cheboygan County face more risk if new rain and snowmelt push rivers back up.