Flooding forces evacuations in more Michigan communities

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In this Wednesday, May 20, 2020, photo, people survey the flood damage to the Curtis Road Bridge in Edenville, Mich., over the Tittabawassee River. The bridge sits just south of Wixom Lake where the dams failed. (Neil Blake/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

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SPAULDING TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — More Central Michigan riverside residents are evacuating their homes after being overwhelmed by flooding from two failed dams that submerged communities further upstream earlier this week. Spaulding Township Fire Chief Tom Fortier said Friday that about a dozen people who live near the Tittabawassee River have evacuated, but some are refusing to leave their homes despite warnings. The river became engorged late Tuesday when the aging Edenville and Sanford Dams failed after heavy rain. The river crested Wednesday in Midland — about 20 miles upstream from Spaulding Township — leaving the small city and surrounding areas under several feet of water and forcing about 11,000 people to evacuate their homes.