The Coast Guard and local agencies are conducting house-to-house rescues and assisting with evacuations in southwest Michigan in the wake of flooding from the St. Joseph River on Thursday.
A watchstander at Coast Guard Station St. Joseph received a call at 8:15 a.m. requesting a welfare check on two people living in a mandatory evacuation zone in Sodus Township, approximately three miles east of St. Joseph. The station personnel requested assistance from the Sodus Township Fire Department. Fire department personnel were unable to reach the persons after arriving on scene due to the water level and location of the two people in distress.
Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center launched response crews from Station St. Joseph. The Coast Guard crew arrived on scene at 8:45 a.m. and were able to assist the two persons from their flooded residence.
Crews from Coast Guard Stations St. Joseph and Michigan City, Ind., and local agencies to include Royalton Township and Sodus Fire Departments, are conducting similar rescues and evacuations from flooded neighborhoods. More than 40 people have been rescued along with numerous pets.
“These operations highlight our inter-agency cooperation and notable working relationship between the Coast Guard and local responders,” noted Lt. Cmdr. Bryan Swintek, search and rescue coordinator for Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan. “This is a result of our collective training between Station St. Joseph and partnering agencies.”
