Homes along Point Pelee Drive in Leamington — near Sturgeon Woods Campground & Marina — are dealing with flooding from Lake Erie.
Duayne Nantau is a construction worker from Colchester who was in the area to do work this morning.
"I was talking to locals there and the wind a couple of hours ago just changed direction and came out of nowhere and spilled over the banks," says Nantau.
Nantau says the affected area is fairly large.
"There's that little fish restaurant — that whole area is flooded — people are in some serious trouble — it's really flooded," he says. "It's comparable to a couple of city blocks."
Lu-Ann Marentette is Leamington's drainage superintendent and says roughly 100 homes could be affected.
"When we get this direction of wind it can cause damage," says Marentette. "It has happened on occasion but not to this extent. I'm hearing reports from some of the older residents that they haven't seen something like this since the 1950s."
Marentette is urging motorists to avoid the area and hopes the weather will cooperate as the day rolls along.
"It is the wind right now but with the rain in the forecast it will make the situation much worse because the pumps can only handle so much water," she says. "The pumps weren't designed to handle the storm moving in off the lakes — they're meant for rain water. Hopefully the rain stays away until we can get rid of this water."
Meantime, the Essex Regional Conservation Authority has issued a flood watch for several communities across the county.
High winds create strong waves on the shoreline of Lake Erie near Point Pelee Dr. in Leamington (Photo submitted by Duayne Nantau)