The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for central Kalamazoo County due to an ice jam.
NWS says the Kalamazoo River is flooding because of the jam, which is downstream of the King Highway bridge near downtown Kalamazoo.
"That jam is significant and it is causing a restriction of the water going from the jam further up," said Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller. "What that does now is it backs up the water into the Comstock Township area."
Flooding is happening along the Kalamazoo River from the bridge east through Sprinkle Road to Merrill Park.
People who live on roads that back up to the river in the area are advised to monitor the conditions closely because ice jams can cause rapidly fluctuating river levels.
“Right now, we have no expectation that this is going to release and go down river, but we’re working with city officials to make sure that everything is being done to make sure that they are prepared," Sheriff Fuller said. "We’ve also been working with the American Red Cross to prepare for any kind of sheltering, if need be. We’ve been working with sandbag providers to make sure that if there is an emergency situation where we have to provide some sort of sandbagging, that we have that ability.”
