Homes in a small city in southern Illinois, were told to evacuate Tuesday morning due to an imminent dam failure, local emergency responders reported.
The evacuation was taking place in Nashville, in Washington County, about 55 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri.
“Failure of the Nashville dam is imminent,” a Facebook post from the Washington County Emergency Management Agency reads. “Please evacuate your home at this time. If you are in the grey box, you need evacuate now!”
Around 9:45 a.m. CT, Alex Haglund with the management agency told local outlet KSDK-TV a secondary dam had failed. The agency announced the update on Facebook at 9:50 a.m., indicating the area around the secondary dam had been overtopped with flood waters.
The cause of the dam failure and the number of homes expected to be impacted were not immediately known.
As of the last census, the city’s population was just over 3,100 people.
USA TODAY has reached out to the emergency management agency.
200+ U.S. dams have failed since 2000See if your community is at risk
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.
This is a developing story.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
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