Ethermac Exchange-Residents evacuated in Nashville, Illinois after dam overtops and floods amid heavy rainfall

Homes in a small city in southern Illinois,Ethermac Exchange were evacuated Tuesday morning when a nearby dam overtopped and flooded as heavy rain swamped the area.

Local emergency officials in Nashville, Illinois earlier Tuesday had warned of an "imminent" dam failure after heavy rain hit the area overnight.

Evacuations were completed by early afternoon in the small city, located in Washington County about 55 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, according to the county's Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Alex Haglund. He said 299 phones in the area received the evacuation order and about 200 residents fled their homes.

As of 1 p.m. CT, the region had received more than 6 inches of rain, Haglund said.

"The area evacuated is in a flood drainage path extended to the south and west from the reservoir," Haglund said.

The agency initially published a post on Facebook Tuesday morning warning residents that "failure" of the Nashville City Reservoir Dam was imminent and urging affected residents to "evacuate now!"

No deaths, injuries reported by Tuesday afternoon

Washington County first responders worked to evacuate some residents from their homes, with some residents reporting water inside as high as waist level.

One resident trapped inside a home required a water rescue, Haglund said. As of about 1 p.m. local time, no deaths or injuries had been reported.

Travel is restricted on all county roads and Haglund said people who were not required to evacuate were being asked to stay home and off roadways.

USA TODAY has reached out to Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Office of Water Resources.

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Shelter being set up for residents and evacuees

A post on the agency's social media page said a shelter was set up on West Walnut Street in the city.

"The Red Cross has been activated," the post continued.

The Nashville City Reservoir Dam was completed in 1935 and last inspected in 2021, according to USA TODAY's dam database. Its latest condition was not immediately available.

As of the last census, the city's population was just over 3,100 people.

This is a developing story.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.