(WWJ) U.S. and Canadian coast guards have deployed icebreaking ships to the St. Clair River, to break up ice jams contributing to devastating floods.
Homes and main roads in southeastern St. Clair County are flooded Wednesday after ice caused the St. Clair River to reach a record high of 578.5 feet.
Two ships have been conducting missions to ease the flooding in the area, with the goal of dropping the water by six to seven inches.
Justin Westmiller, director of Emergency Management in St. Clair County, said local fire departments and first responders are standing by to help.
"The flood portion of this response if technically not over yet," Westmiller told WWJ, urging people to let authorities know if they're having issues and first responders will get to them "immediately."
The after affects of the standing water getting into the sewage system is causing that to overload, so now they're dealing with that as well.
M-29 got down to one lane during the worst of the flooding, Westmiller said.
Water levels are said to be improving in the Algonac area, but upstream to the north in Marine City and East China Township, they remain at high levels.
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John Burden, who lives along Pointe Drive in St. Clair County's East China Township, said the flood waters have destroyed his home.
"It's coming in through the crawlspace trapdoor, and the garage is full and everything's floating in the house," Burden told WWJ's Jon Hewett. "So, we're calling our FEMA flood insurance and doing the back check and stuff, and we're looking for a place to go."
"We've got 200-pound English bulldogs that we have to deal with, so... it's something else," he said. "I wanna live on the highest hill in Michigan right now, to tell you the truth."
Motorists using roads along the shoreline were urged to proceed with caution due to the flooded areas.
“I’ve lived here for about 45 years now and the water is higher than I’ve ever seen it,” Bill Gratopp of Algonac told the Voice Newspaper.