Cheboygan residents in Northern Michigan told to prepare for possible flooding, evacuations

Residents in the Northern Lower Michigan city of Cheboygan have been told to prepare for possible evacuations as the flooding risk increases. 

Snowmelt from a mid-March winter storm, compounded by recent heavy rains, has pushed the water levels high along the Cheboygan River at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex.  

In the meantime, a large piece of ice damaged the safety wire near the dam. 

The Cheboygan County Sheriff's Office has explained to local residents via social media of a "ready, set, go" plan; with the "ready" alert issued early Monday because water had reached within 12 inches of the top of the dam. 

If needed: State officials say a "set" alert will go into effect at 6 inches within the top of the dam; and a "go" alert if water is within an inch of the top of the dam, with high probability of topping the dam or a dam failure. 

Cheboygan is about 279 miles northwest of Detroit. Just under 5,000 people live in the city of Cheboygan, with about 26,000 people living in Cheboygan County. 

Monitoring the Cheboygan River 

State officials issued their first alert of the rising waters on April 7, with the water at 21.5 inches below the top of the dam at that point.  

The State of Michigan activated its State Emergency Operations Center on Friday, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declaring a state of emergency as a result of the conditions. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources also began a sandbagging effort on Thursday, with 2,000 sandbags placed by Sunday. 

To prevent damage from debris flowing down the Cheboygan River, the Michigan Department of Transportation closed the U.S. 23 Bascue Bridge in Cheboygan to vehicle traffic on Monday morning and raised the bridge. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources also set up five water pumps near the dam to divert water around the dam. 

"All of the dam gates on the DNR-managed portion of the dam are fully open to handle this flow. The pumps add to the capacity," said Richard Hill, Gaylord District supervisor for the DNR's Parks and Recreation Division, which manages the dam. "We are putting through as much water as we can." 

A large crane was also used to remove gates at the dam Sunday night in an effort to increase water flow and manage the rising water levels, state officials said.

How high is the Cheboygan River? 

By 7 a.m. Monday, the river water levels reached the 13.75-inch point at the dam.  

As of early Monday morning, the sheriff's office urged anyone who is between the Cheboygan DNR Dam and Lake Huron to secure outdoor items, move valuables to higher levels, and prepare a "go bag" with medication and important documents for their families should evacuations be ordered. 

How will residents know to evacuate? 

The Cheboygan County sheriff's office said any evacuation order will be announced via the Federal Emergency Management Agency alert system that invokes the cell phone Wireless Emergency Alerts system, NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System via radio and television broadcasts. 

Signups for local alerts are also available through the Charlevoix-Cheboygan-Emmet 911 Central Dispatch Authority. 

"You are strongly encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts," Cheboygan Mayor Brett A. Mallory told local residents on Sunday.

Cheboygan's electricity might be shut off

Consumers Energy, which provides electric service in Cheboygan, said Monday that it is considering a "Public Safety Power Shutoff" in the city as a result of the flooding risk. Consumers Energy customers in that area who might be affected are encouraged to sign up for outage alerts.

Any such decision would be made with the Consumers Energy emergency management and operations teams working with local authorities. The reasons for the possible shutoff include flooding and saturated ground that leads to safety concerns around electrical equipment and infrastructure.

Power would be restored after crews could safely inspect equipment.

In the meantime, Consumers Energy is encouraging customers to prepare an emergency kit with flashlights, canned food and drinking water; charge all critical electronics such as medical devices; unplug sensitive electronics such as TVs and computers; and turn off electricity where it is safe to do so.

"We understand how difficult it can be to face flooding and the added concern of losing power," said Greg Salisbury, Consumers Energy's president of electric distribution. "Every step we take is grounded in safety, and we'll continue working closely with local officials while doing everything we can to support customers through this."