Residents who had evacuated their homes on Tuesday due to severe flooding were allowed to return after an inspection confirmed that the Nashville Reservoir dam in Illinois was safe, authorities reported. The initial evacuation was necessitated by two failures of the dam, which had earlier led authorities to urge hundreds of people to leave their homes as a precautionary measure.

On Tuesday morning, the Washington County Emergency Management Agency issued an evacuation order through their Facebook page for a specified geographic area, citing that the dam was on the verge of failure. Subsequently, an update to the post announced a second dam failure, indicating that the area "has been overtopped with flood waters." This situation raised significant concerns about the structural integrity of the dam and the safety of the residents in the affected area.

One woman was unable to evacuate and became trapped in her home until she was rescued by first responders. According to Alex Haglund, spokesperson for the Washington County Emergency Management Agency, the water in the woman’s home had reached waist height, highlighting the severity of the flooding.

The Army Corps of Engineers conducted a safety assessment of the dam with the assistance of a drone, providing critical information for the emergency management team. The Washington County Emergency Management Agency issued an updated statement on Tuesday afternoon, indicating that the immediate safety threat had subsided in the absence of further rain. "The secondary dam reacted as designed, helping prevent a full dam failure," the agency noted, underscoring the importance of the secondary structure in mitigating the risk.

Despite the immediate danger passing, the agency emphasized that repairs were necessary to "maintain the integrity of the dam," suggesting that ongoing maintenance and monitoring would be crucial to prevent future incidents.

Earlier in the day, evacuation orders had been disseminated to 299 phones, ensuring that residents in the most at-risk areas were informed. Washington County residents outside the evacuation zone, including spokesperson Alex Haglund, were advised to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel due to widespread flooding and inaccessible major road routes within the county.

"Currently, we have a lot of other flooding that’s not related to the dam, and that has made it so that there are no major road routes that are consistently accessible in our county," Haglund explained. This statement highlighted the broader impact of the flooding beyond the immediate threat posed by the dam failure.

During the emergency, Washington County activated Red Cross assistance and established an evacuation center at a local church, providing shelter and support for displaced residents. Emergency management teams worked tirelessly to address the dam's condition and manage the broader flooding crisis. While no injuries have been reported, county officials noted that significant property damage had occurred due to the flooding.

As of the latest updates, authorities announced that Interstate 64 had reopened, and personnel were actively working to reopen state routes 127 and 15 in Washington County, which had been impacted by the flooding.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for several counties in Illinois following unprecedented storms that swept through the Chicago area on Monday night, leaving many customers without power. A flood watch remains in effect through Wednesday morning, with ongoing rain expected to exacerbate the flooding situation. The combination of the dam failures, widespread flooding, and adverse weather conditions underscored the severe and ongoing nature of this natural disaster, requiring coordinated efforts from local, state, and federal agencies to ensure the safety and well-being of affected residents.