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Flooding concerns in Luzerne County

Nescopeck Creek overflowed its banks, and several homes on St. John's Road in the Drums area are flooded.

DRUMS, Pa. — When Anne Salkowski was getting ready to leave her Bulter Township home Friday morning to go to work, she opened her front door to see a flooded front yard and her backyard even worse.

About a foot of water surrounded her entire home on St. John's Road in the Drums area, and it's forcing her out.

"I have to evacuate. I don't want to evacuate, but I feel like I'm in danger of staying here. It's either evacuate or have somebody come rescue me at 9,10 o'clock tonight," said Salkowski.

In her living room, carpets are rolled up, and furniture is moved. She's praying the water doesn't bust through her door.

Her garage was filled with water, soaking her belongings.

This isn't the first time her property has flooded in the more than four years she's lived here, but she does say it's the worst.

"Am I scared that I'm not going to have a house when I get back? No," said Salkowski. "I'm hoping it doesn't go in, but it's there. Of course, I am worried."

Joe lives next door to Anne. He didn't want to show his face on camera but said that he purchased a sump pump with the hope of getting rid of the more than four feet of water in his basement.

"It's ridiculous. There's water everywhere. It's knocking the fence down—all the tools under the pavilion in the creek. The neighbors are flooded. We don't know if it's an ice dam or if somebody dug up something," he said.

The six inches of water on the ground would normally be 200 yards back in the  Nescopeck Creek.

Residents tell Newswatch 16 they're fed up and want something to be done with the creek.

"I'm upset, and I'm mad because it's coming up from the neighbor's house, and the embankment needs to be built up, and somebody needs to do something. Somebody needs to help us out," said Salkowski. "If they would build and embankment up, none of this would happen."

"Something has to be done. Dredge the creek, do something. Can't live like this," Joe said.

People who live here say they've reached out to the local fire department, DEP, and 911 center for help on the creek.

In the meantime, some will leave their homes to escape potential flooding; others are sticking it out.

Check the latest Stormtracker 16 forecast here.

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