Residents ordered to evacuate after Nashville, Ill. dam failure

NASHVILLE, Ill. – The Washington County Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday morning that water overtopped the Nashville City Reservoir dam, located an hour southeast of St. Louis.

EMA has advised residents located south of the reservoir, to evacuate their homes immediately. Residents were told the community center in Nashville is open for shelter.

“The dam here in town has been overtopped by extensive rains. We had 299 phones in the area that we ordered the evacuation of,” Alex Haglund from the Washington County Emergency Management Agency said. “We’ve had a lot of responders from other areas coming to help us, and they have not had an easy time getting here.”

According to Haglund, water overtopped the Nashville Reservoir and the secondary dam.

The National Weather Service announced Tuesday morning that Washington and Clinton County were upgraded from a flash flood warning to a considerable flash flood.

The upgrade, according to the National Weather Service, means the flash flooding is a more dangerous situation than usual.

There were several major road closures including I-64, U.S. Highway 50, and State Rte. 4, which have since been reopened.

“We’re trying to find our way through, we’re coming from Cairo, Illinois, to St. Louis Airport to pick up a relative,” Mashea Spencer, nearby resident, said. “We’re going to have to go around, we’re going to have to go back to Pickneyville…then we’ll be able to head to St. Louis that way.”

Illinois State Police say they have responded to three property damage crashes in the Washington County area. It is unknown if these crashes are flood-related.

Heavy rainfalls left many drivers stranded, including Hank Sketzkorn.

“I came into town to Hardee’s to get some breakfast this morning, and the good Lord decided to keep the water coming. Now I can’t get back home,” he said. “All four ways is blocked; I can’t get back there.”

The Army Corps of Engineers assessed the safety of the reservoir and residents were allowed to return to the evacuated areas. There will be some repairs needed to the Nashville Reservoir dam.

“The dam itself seems like it did what it was supposed to and is now not as much of a situation for concern,” he said.

Cleanup efforts were underway Tuesday afternoon. Homes and businesses were damaged.

“Hopefully this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Pat Bielong, owner of Precision Automotive and Truck Service in Nashville, said.

His home and business flooded, but he continued to make runs pulling stranded cars out of water.

“We had cars with blown motors that were stuck,” he said Bielong. “We had one rollover that hit the water and flipped over.”

Another challenge was getting to cars that needed a tow. Street closures in a small town can have a big impact.

“When you’re in a town like this, you only have so many ways in and so many ways out,” Mark Durr, Washington County resident, said.

He was pleased to see most streets were reopened by Tuesday evening but expressed concern for those who were in the evacuated area and experienced flood damage.

“There was a lot of worry and a lot of people stressed out,” Durr said.

Residents with damage are encouraged to take photos and send information to the Washington County EMA by email at ​ darrah.sabo@washingtonco.illinois.gov or by phone at 314-327-4800.  More information can be found on the Washington County EMA Facebook page .

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