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Vicksburg neighborhood still dealing with floods

Posted at 7:06 PM, Aug 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-18 19:42:58-04

VICKSBURG, Mich. — Kerri Resh has been coming to Indian Lake for decades. Her husband’s family has a lake house on the water and they’ve spent many summer vacations here. But this year, after Monday night’s record rainfall, the lake rose past the seawall and flooded parts of their yard and driveway.

“The kids look forward to tubing and being out on the water,” said Resh standing in several inches of water.  “You come to the lake to boat and unfortunately that’s not happening this week.”

Residents living on the lake said they got 3-to-4 inches of rain Monday night, on top of the five inches the received a few nights before.  All that rain made the water rise and flood their neighborhood.

“I’m told that for every inch of rain we get, the lake rises approximately 4 inches,” said Dave Becker in his rain boots. “If you do the math that’s like 34-36 inches of rain or rise in the lake.”

Becker’s been renting a cottage on the lake and said there hasn’t been much damage to the house. Others homes on the block are completely surrounded by water. Their lawns and driveways are completely submerged, with the water hitting their doorstep.

“All my neighbors are dealing with water in their crawl space,” said Becker. “We’re just having to deal. We go out in our bare feet or our boots and wade through it.”

A few people on the block have suck pumps that he said are constantly going. He recently just came back from driving his wife and dog to Illinois to be with family. The water made it hard to walk their dog everyday so they figure it's best to be away until the water recedes.

“Nobody’s having to get on the roofs and evacuate or anything like that,” said Becker. “We’re way more fortunate than the poor people in Louisiana. I feel really bad for them and pray for them as often as I remember to.”

Becker said he’s seen crews from Kalamazoo County come in a few times this week to check on the manholes, making sure they’re sealed tight. Resh said she’s seen several private businesses helping folks get rid of the excess water. This is the worst it's been in 14 years.

“My husband marked a spot in the yard to see if it had come up or gone down and it hasn’t changed at all in two days of 80-degree weather,” said Resh. “We’re surprised about that.”

The Resh family is making the best of it she said. Her husband was rowing in the yard Wednesday. Kids nearby were kayaking down the street while other children passed by on bikes. They're outdoors having fun before the rain comes.

“Nothing you can do,” said Resh the weekend's wet weather forecast. “It’s out of your control at this point.”