Homes in a small city in southern Illinois, were told to evacuate Tuesday morning due to an imminent dam failure, local emergency responders reported.
A secondary dam in Nashville, Illinois failed Tuesday morning, Alex Haglund, spokesperson with the emergency management agency, told USA TODAY. The agency announced the update on Facebook, indicating the area around the secondary dam had been overtopped with flood waters.
“The cause of the dam failure was flash flooding due to extensive rains,” Haglund told USA TODAY.
Evacuations were taking place in the city in Washington County, about 55 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Haglund said 299 phones in the area received the evacuation order.
“The area evacuated is in a flood drainage path extended to the south and west from the reservoir,” Haglund said.
The Washington County Emergency Management Agency initially published a post on Facebook Tuesday morning warning residents “failure of the Nashville dam is imminent.”
“Please evacuate your home at this time. If you are in the grey box, you need evacuate now!” the post reads.
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Shelter being set up for residents and evacuees
A post on the agency’s social media page said a shelter was being set up on West Walnut Street in the city.
“The Red Cross has been activated,” the post continued.
The Nashville City Reservoir Dam was completed in 1935 and last inspected in 2021, according to USA TODAY’s dam database. Its latest condition was not immediately available.
As of the last census, the city’s population was just over 3,100 people.
This is a developing story.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nashville, Illinois dam failure: Washington County orders evacuations
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