Homeowners preparing for possible flooding

HAMBURG, TOWNSHIP Mich. (WXYZ) - A flood watch has the people who live on Ore lake in Hamburg Township hoping it won't be too bad; they say the lake is low right now and that could spare them serious flooding.

The residents have had trouble in the past with flooding. In 2004, some homes on the lake were heavily damaged and a few were lost from the flooding.

Those who had to repair or rebuild made sure their homes were on higher ground.

Residents of the lake have used sandbags at times, but not so far this winter. Todd Matthias says there have been times the water and his boat were right up to his deck and many residents have had water in their crawl spaces.

Chip Cartier says his side lot takes the brunt of the water, but he and his wife love living on the lake. 

"A paradise in the summer-- and in the winter we live like Eskimos in an igloo," he says.

7 First Alert forecasters say with an inch of rain expected starting late Tuesday, melting snow and a ground so frozen it can't absorb the water, there is a potential for trouble.