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Shocking video shows the aftermath of Michigan dam failure after chunks of highway were washed away and lake burst its banks leaving a muddy mess (22 Pics)

Shocking footage has emerged of the devastation left by the collapsing of a Michigan dam. Wixom Lake, a reservoir of the Edenville Dam ...

Shocking footage has emerged of the devastation left by the collapsing of a Michigan dam.
Wixom Lake, a reservoir of the Edenville Dam was entirely drained after record flooding cause the embankment to fail on Tuesday.  
Brendan Gutenschwager took a look at the damage for himself and videoed the destruction as he walked along the M-30 highway in Edenville.
The road lies immediately downstream of the failed dam. Gutenschwager came across a point where a massive chunk of the road had simply been washed away leaving a huge gap.   



Footage has been taken that shows a Michigan highway completely washed away after the Edenville dam burst
Footage has been taken that shows a Michigan highway completely washed away after the Edenville dam burst
At one point in the road, a huge gap was left after the sheer force of the water washed away part of the bridge
At one point in the road, a huge gap was left after the sheer force of the water washed away part of the bridge 
Brendan Gutenschwager took a look at the damage for himself and videoed the destruction as he walked along the M-30 highway in Edenville
Brendan Gutenschwager took a look at the damage for himself and videoed the destruction as he walked along the M-30 highway in Edenville
The road was highway M-30 in Edenville, Michigan which completely collapsed. The hard shoulder also appeared to break away from the main roadway and sink several feet.   
The clip shows the damage caused to the highway and a bridge over the Tittabawassee River in Edenville. 
'An entire part of the road collapsed altogether,' a shocked Gutenschwager can be heard saying in the clip. 'This is absolutely insane. An entire chunk of the road fell into the river and washed away.'
The video also shows footage of the Wixom Lake bed. The lake ended up being drained after Edenville dam collapsed. Damage to a lake marina can also be seen in the video.
The force of the water softened the ground so much that the bridge ended up completely collapsing
The force of the water softened the ground so much that the bridge ended up completely collapsing 
The hard shoulder also ended up falling away from the side of the road. On some parts of the road the asphalt also cracked
The hard shoulder also ended up falling away from the side of the road. On some parts of the road the asphalt also cracked
The National Weather Service said the area was hit with 'extremely dangerous' flooding after the failures of the Edenville and Sanford dams.
Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County on Tuesday and encouraged residents to evacuate their homes or move to local shelters. 
Mass evacuations also took place across the county, including in the towns of Edenville and Sanford.
Around 10,000 people were forced to leave the area because of rising waters, although no deaths have been reported .
Wixom Lake, a reservoir of the Edenville Dam was also entirely drained after the water was allowed to flow out
Wixom Lake, a reservoir of the Edenville Dam was also entirely drained after the water was allowed to flow out
A boat was left high and dry - stranded by one of the docks on the lake which is now nothing more than a muddy mess
 A boat was left high and dry - stranded by one of the docks on the lake which is now nothing more than a muddy mess
On Thursday it was revealed that the company which operated the hydroelectric dam had its license revoked by federal regulators due to history of safety violations.
Boyce Hydro Power's history of violations lasted throughout the 14 years the company was authorized to run the nearly century-old Edenville dam, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The commission said it repeatedly raised concerns about the dam's ability to prevent flooding during extreme conditions because of its inadequate spillway capacity.
The dam on the Tobacco and Tittabawassee rivers, about 140 miles north of Detroit, was among several barriers overtaken Tuesday by floodwaters that chased more than 10,000 people from communities in central Michigan.  No injuries or fatalities related to the flooding have been reported.
The commission ordered Boyce Hydro to form an independent team to investigate three other dams it owns on the rivers that were vulnerable to a 'cascading failure scenario.' Among them was the Sanford Dam, which also was damaged. 
Boyce Hydro Power's history of violations lasted throughout the 14 years the company was authorized to run the nearly century-old Edenville dam, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Windover High School is seen surrounded by flood waters in Midland
Boyce Hydro Power's history of violations lasted throughout the 14 years the company was authorized to run the nearly century-old Edenville dam, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Windover High School is seen surrounded by flood waters in Midland
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it repeatedly raised concerns about the dam's ability to prevent flooding during extreme conditions because of its inadequate spillway capacity. In this aerial image, Northwood University is seen surrounded by floodwaters in Midland, Michigan, on Wednesday
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it repeatedly raised concerns about the dam's ability to prevent flooding during extreme conditions because of its inadequate spillway capacity. In this aerial image, Northwood University is seen surrounded by floodwaters in Midland, Michigan, on Wednesday 
This photo provided by Maxar Technologies shows homes and other buildings surrounded by floodwaters in Midland
This photo provided by Maxar Technologies shows homes and other buildings surrounded by floodwaters in Midland
Don Thomas rows Nick Maki (right) and son Jason Thomas past Jason's red 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee that's barely visible above the flooding, after picking up Jason's two family cats from his flooded home in Midland
Don Thomas rows Nick Maki (right) and son Jason Thomas past Jason's red 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee that's barely visible above the flooding, after picking up Jason's two family cats from his flooded home in Midland
Cars scattered and upended in downtown Sanford, Michigan, amid flooding along the Tittabawassee River
Cars scattered and upended in downtown Sanford, Michigan, amid flooding along the Tittabawassee River
An aerial photo made with a drone shows floodwaters from the Tittabawassee River in the downtown area of Midland on Thursday
An aerial photo made with a drone shows floodwaters from the Tittabawassee River in the downtown area of Midland on Thursday 
The commission planned to send a staff engineer to the site to assist with the investigation as soon as it could be done safely, Chairman Neil Chatterjee said in a statement.
Gov Gretchen Whitmer investigate the dam operators and review 'every possible legal recourse'.
'The initial readout is that this was a known problem for a while and that´s why its important that we do our due diligence,' Whitmer said. 
Lee Mueller, architect and co-member manager of the company, did not return calls for comment Wednesday from The Associated Press.
The Edenville dam, in Michigan's Gladwin and Midland counties, includes a series of earthen embankments totaling about 6,600 feet long, with a maximum height of nearly 55 feet. 
It forms a 2,600-acre reservoir known as Wixom Lake, a popular boating and fishing spot.
The dam has two reinforced concrete spillways to carry away excess water when reservoir levels get too high.
In its 2018 order revoking Boyce Hydro's license, the commission said its primary concern about the dam was its inability to handle 'the probable maximum flood' - the type of event that could be expected from 'the most severe combination of critical meteorologic and hydrologic conditions that is reasonably possible' in the area.
Commission guidelines require that dams be able to withstand such a flood or have enough spillway capacity to prevent reservoirs from rising dangerously high. 
The Edenville dam's spillway capacity was only about 50 per cent of the probable maximum flood, the commission said.
Inadequate spillway capacity is a common problem for US dams, an Associated Press investigation found in 2019. 
The dam on the Tobacco and Tittabawassee rivers, about 140 miles north of Detroit, was among several barriers overtaken Tuesday by floodwaters that chased more than 10,000 people from communities in central Michigan. This image shows the Sanford Dam
The dam on the Tobacco and Tittabawassee rivers, about 140 miles north of Detroit, was among several barriers overtaken Tuesday by floodwaters that chased more than 10,000 people from communities in central Michigan. This image shows the Sanford Dam 
An aerial photo shows debris piled against the Sanford Dam spillway on Thursday after the dam collapsed on the Tittabawassee River in Sanford, Michigan
An aerial photo shows debris piled against the Sanford Dam spillway on Thursday after the dam collapsed on the Tittabawassee River in Sanford, Michigan
This aerial image shows what remains of the Sanford Lake Dam and spillway after its collapse on the Tittabawassee River
This aerial image shows what remains of the Sanford Lake Dam and spillway after its collapse on the Tittabawassee River 
The Edenville Dam upstream was breached draining a large part of Wixom Lake near Edenville, Michigan, on Tuesday. The dam gave way after heavy rains, sending water downstream and causing the Sanford Dam (pictured Thursday) to give way
The Edenville Dam upstream was breached draining a large part of Wixom Lake near Edenville, Michigan, on Tuesday. The dam gave way after heavy rains, sending water downstream and causing the Sanford Dam (pictured Thursday) to give way
Water is seen flowing freely past what remains of the Sanford Dam and spillway after it collapsed on the Tittabawassee River
Water is seen flowing freely past what remains of the Sanford Dam and spillway after it collapsed on the Tittabawassee River
The commission said it warned the dam's previous owners of the need for improvements in early 1999, but no changes were made before the license was transferred to Boyce Hydro in 2004.
Boyce Hydro said it planned to build an auxiliary spillway on the Tittabawassee River that year and was studying the need for another on the Tobacco River, the commission said.
But the company failed to complete either project, repeatedly seeking extensions and missing deadlines, the agency said. 
Among its other violations: performing unauthorized dam repairs and earth-moving and failing to file an adequate public safety plan, maintain recreation facilities or monitor water quality.
For more than a decade, Boyce Hydro 'knowingly and willfully refused to comply with major aspects of its license ... with the result that public safety has been put at risk, and the public has been denied the benefits, particularly project recreation, to which it is entitled,' the commission's order said.
'The record demonstrates that there is no reason to believe that Boyce Hydro will come into compliance,' the commission added. 
The company 'has displayed a history of obfuscation and outright disregard of its obligations.'
The company twice lowered Wixom Lake's level without permission after the federal license was revoked, said Nick Assendelft, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which has overseen the Edenville barrier since its federal license was withdrawn.
The department was pursuing enforcement action for the violation and resulting damage to natural resources when the dam gave way, Assendelft said. 
A lawsuit filed April 30 says the lengthy drawdowns in 2018 and 2019 killed 'thousands, if not millions' of freshwater mussels, many listed as endangered species.
The Four Lakes Task Force, an authority formed by the two counties and area property owners, agreed to buy all four dams on the rivers from Boyce Hydro last December and was planning to close the deal within the next couple of months, spokeswoman Stacey Trapani said.
The group planned to raise $32million for the purchase and for major upgrades and maintenance, she said.
Now, the status of the deal is unclear.
'We're still in emergency mode at the moment,' Trapani said. 'As soon as we are able, we'll start assessments so we can determine a path forward.'
Floodwaters also mixed with containment ponds at a Dow Chemical plant and could displace sediment from a downstream Superfund site, though the company said there was no risk to people or the environment.
Dow said the ponds held only water, and it has detected no chemical releases from the plant in Midland where the company was founded, though the Environmental Protection Agency said state officials would evaluate the plant when they're able. 
Once the flooding recedes, Dow will be required to assess the Superfund site - contaminated with dioxins the company dumped in the last century - to determine if any contamination was released, the EPA said.
But the danger isn't over, and Midland officials asked that residents not return yet. The National Weather Service (NWS) said communities farther downstream were bracing for flooding in the coming days.
Not to mention, more rain is coming to the area on Saturday, There's a 30 per cent chance of rain, with more moving into the area Sunday and Monday.
'It's going to continue downriver,' Sara Pampreen, a weather service meteorologist, said. 'Just exactly how much, that's the question.' 
A car lies buried on Thursday after flood waters from heavy rains caused mass damage in Sanford, Michigan
A car lies buried on Thursday after flood waters from heavy rains caused mass damage in Sanford, Michigan 
An overturned pontoon boat lies among the debris next to what remains of the Sanford Lake Dam and spillway after its collapse on the Tittabawassee River in Sanford
An overturned pontoon boat lies among the debris next to what remains of the Sanford Lake Dam and spillway after its collapse on the Tittabawassee River in Sanford
A car is left on a river bank as floods from heavy rains caused mass damage in Sanford, Michigan, on Thursday
A car is left on a river bank as floods from heavy rains caused mass damage in Sanford, Michigan, on Thursday
A washed out West Saginaw Road in Sanford, Michigan, on Thursday after the area saw heavy flooding and damage from heavy rains
A washed out West Saginaw Road in Sanford, Michigan, on Thursday after the area saw heavy flooding and damage from heavy rains
Dow Chemical has been headquartered in Midland for more than 120 years, and its main plant sits on the city's riverbank.
The company, with 9,000 employees and contractors in Midland, on Tuesday shut down all operating units except those needed to contain chemicals, spokesman Kyle Bandlow said. No chemical releases have been detected, he said.
But the flooding likely will pose a significant setback to the Superfund cleanup, said Allen Burton, a professor of environment and sustainability at the University of Michigan. 
Dioxins released by Dow contaminated sediments and floodplains along 50 miles of the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers to Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay. The federal Superfund program investigates and cleans up toxic waste sites.
Dow and the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy will have to determine where the floodwaters have moved the dioxins, Burton said.
'They knew where all that stuff was, but the power of water is unbelievable and it's going to move things around,' Burton said.
Meanwhile, more than 13 million people are under flash-flood watches across the Mid-Atlantic states. 
Residents in parts of North Carolina and Virginia have been put at risk of floods and dam failure after more than seven inches of rain fell on the area.   
Rivers in South Carolina and Illinois were also at flood stage, forecasters said. 
City officials in Roanoke, Virginia, announced Thursday morning that 13 homes had to be evacuated due to heavy rain threatening the Spring Valley Dam. 

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