In the United States, 11,000 people evacuated in Michigan after two dams overflowed

Nearly 11,000 people were evacuated in central Michigan after the overflow of two dams which raised fears of “historic” floods, announced Wednesday, May 20, the authorities of this state in the north of the United States. Heavy rains over the past few days have breached the Edenville and Sanford dams, then led to a sudden rise in the waters of the Tittabawassee River which borders Midland, a town of 41,000 people 200 km north of Detroit.

About 10,000 town residents and 950 people living in surrounding villages have left the area, Midland County said on its Facebook page. The flood did not cause any death or serious injury, he said, calling on the population to take refuge with relatives or in reception centers opened in emergency.

Michigan, one of the states most affected by Covid-19

This disaster comes as Michigan is one of the states in the country most affected by the coronavirus epidemic. The governor asked the evacuees to wear a mask and to respect barrier gestures to avoid contamination in the shelters.

“It’s hard to believe that we are in the middle of a crisis that only happens every 100 years, a global pandemic, and that we also have to deal with what appears to be the worst flood in 500 years,” he said. said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who visited Midland. “People are doing well,” she said, however.

“Stay safe”

President Donald Trump assured on Twitter that the White House was monitoring the floods “closely”. “Stay safe and listen to local officials,” he wrote to residents.

Donald Trump is due to visit this Thursday, May 21, at a factory of the automaker Ford in Ypsilanti, 200 km south of Midland. Michigan is a key state for the November presidential election in which the Republican billionaire will run for a second four-year term.