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East China Township facing flood warning after ice blockage on St. Clair River

Posted at 10:45 PM, Jan 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-05 18:10:23-05

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning in southeastern st. Clair county because of an ice blockage on the St. Clair River.

Several homes and structures are being threatened because of the flooding.

On Loretta Street in East China Township, folks are dealing with flooding and large chunks of ice, making for very dangerous conditions.

But for the folks living along the sea wall they’re dealing with an even bigger threat.

John Thibodeau came to his summer home along the St. Clair River after seeing video of it all day on the news.

"God I hope the water doesn’t come in the house. There's nothing I can do, it’s an act of nature.  I’m thinking money, it’s going to cost me some money," said Thibodeau.

John says he's never seen it this bad in years.

"Never this high. I guess 10 years ago it was up high like this."

The NWS issued the warning until Sunday afternoon.

"Hopefully the ice breakers will knock the ice out and let it flow back down," said Thibodeau.

John is also dealing with something - a similar situation at his other house down south, after this summer's hurricanes.

"The hurricane down in Florida in Naples, and we're repairing that place down there now," said Thibodeau.

John says there’s nothing he can do, but just hope for the best.

"What can you do?  You can’t hold that back, I’m to old for sandbags, just wait and see what happens."

The emergency management coordinator tells me they have an action plan just in case things get worse around here. But for now a lot of folks are just watching and waiting to see what happens next.