MANAWA, Wis. — A dam in an eastern Wisconsin community has been breached, prompting people living downriver to be evacuated, the National Weather Service said Friday.
The dam in Manawa along the Little Wolf River was breached about 1:45 p.m. by floodwaters, meteorologist Scott Cultice said. The town has a population of about 1,200. It was not immediately clear how many people were evacuated.
Manawa Police Chief Jason Severson estimated that a 50-foot-wide (15.2-meter-wide) area around the dam had eroded.
Gates on the dam eventually were opened to release water and relieve pressure on the structure, officials said.
''It looks like the dam is intact, but there is quite a bit of erosion on the north side," Severson told reporters 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.''
As the erosion worsened, authorities began evacuating some homes, he said.
The rains started about 8:30 a.m. Friday and about 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) fell in a few hours. A flash flood warning was issued for Manawa and other parts of Waupaca County
''It just wouldn't stop raining in and around the Manawa area,'' Cultice said. ''They had water rescues. Most of the downtown roads were flooded.''
