WATCH | Rising waters on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river are threatening $400 to $500 million worth of shorefront cottages, shops and homes. In some places, the destruction has already begun, reports WHAM News in Rochester, New York.
Some residents and politicians attribute blame to an international water management strategy called "Plan 2014." Under the plan, less water than usual is flowing out from Lake Ontario through the Moses-Saunders dam.
This is causing problems because record rains have brought the water level dangerously high.
Residents are calling for water to be released from Lake Ontario, but that might lead to flooding near Montreal.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has assembled a local emergency response team to address the flooding. Additionally, he personally reached out to the International Joint Commission requesting more water be released into Canada.
We're working with our Emergency Management partners across Lake Ontario to prepare for potential #flooding: https://t.co/GVF4WmAFtY
— RochesterRedCross (@RocRedCross) May 5, 2017
The Red Cross is gearing up to handle more impending flooding.
Current weather forecasts portend more rain. Unless the dam is opened, more damage is likely.