Page 26 - Ice Jam News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Most residents have either left for the season or left out of fear. how concerned are you when it starts to thaw and that's when it becomes water? >> that's when the water is going to come up like a backed up toilet. the ice is going to come up and it's going to take out everything. it's like somebody took a bulldozer and ran it through these homes. >> reporter: what do you think will happen to your home? >> i don't know. i'm praying for the best. going to church. praying i keep my home. it's in god's hands. >> reporter: an ice jam can be deadly deceiving. >> while the water looks to be still,...

All right. so we've seen how the brutal weather has caused problems on the ground and in the air. now we're seeing what it's doing on the water. some rivers are big, static lakes of ice. look at this. these ice jams could be very, very dangerous. especially when it starts to get warmer. our ted rowlands is at an ice jam on the kankankee river about an hour from chicago. ted, that is an amazing, amazing sight behind you. >> reporter: dangerous job but gorgeous. you don't see this very often. this a massive ice jam on the kankankee river. you can see as far as the eye can see these massive bould...

More space than water, you can see it hammering into bridges piers and river front homes. and gary tuchman, these days he's looking like a south pole scientist. where are you? what are you standing on? >> reporter: anderson, right now i'm standing on top of the kankakee river, about an hour south of chicago in the town of wilmington, illinois. just a few days ago this weekend, this was iced over. as flat as a hockey rink. then it started to thaw and melt and it got ridiculously cold again. the windchill is about 20 below zero and this has become a river of ice boulders. it looks like scenes fr...

Your biggest fear. all these people who live on the road and all these people who live on intosh, we are in trouble. we need prayers and good luck. >> you have never seen anything like this? >> in all my years. >> the way it happened this year, we have intense weather across the country. it's the cold weather followed by the few warm days that created this mess. being out here, it's beautiful. a gorgeous sight. it is a dangerous situation for these folks. not only for the ice jam, but when it does break up. there is a potential for flooding. a lot of people here are nervous out here looking at...

State as well. floodwaters overtaking one neighborhood. emergency crews using rafts, obviously, and even a bulldozer to get everybody out safely. officials say an ice jam in the buffalo river is to blame. >> it blocked all the water floe. sense, with it moving, it rapidly rose up the water through the streets and the storm sewers. probably took more than a half hour to get it up here. >> the flood victims headed now to warming centers while they wait for the waist-high water to recede. and heads up in chicago. a january thaw is bringing warmer temperatures, but city officials are urging ever...