Heavy rains caused a dam in eastern Wisconsin to breach, forcing the evacuation of communities downstream in the latest emergency caused by extreme weather moving across the country, the Associated Press reports.
While the Manawa Dam appears to be largely intact except for a 50-foot section along the top that broke away, officials say significant erosion in the structure will require additional inspection. “It looks like the dam is intact, but there is quite a bit of erosion on the north side,” Police Chief Jason Severson said Friday afternoon. ”We think the worst of it is over, so now we’re going to start assessing things and see where we go from here.”