Scenes From The Metro Detroit Flood
By Detroit Free Press | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"When I got home, the cage was locked, the water was up to here to this bar," he said, pointing just a few inches down from the top of the crate, "and I couldn't see him and I opened the cage and reached in for him and he went under the water and came out the other end and just jumped into my arms."
Bentsen said
"Thankfully, he had the stamina to keep his nose up," Bentsen said.
Bentsen said, "It was scary, very scary."
Not long after the rescue, the water climbed higher. Bentsen said that, at one point, the water was four cement bricks deep.
"I wanted to clean my basement," she said. "But this wasn't the way I wanted to do it."
She has lived in her home on
Her insurance company will only cover personal items, leaving her to pick up the tab for the rest. Cleanup will take 3-4 days, she expects.
The water moved her washer and dryer and took the sink between the two off the wall, she said. It destroyed luggage, Christmas and
"I've never seen anything like this," she said as she cleaned today. "Never, ever."
More supplies coming
"It looked like a tornado went through the basement," she said coming out of Great Lakes ACE Hardware off East 4th in
Raona, 59, needed a wet-dry vac to clean and bought the last one on the shelf just before more rain started falling this afternoon. Her basement had been covered in about 3 feet of water, and included sewage, but the water receded to about three inches by this afternoon, she said.
Hundreds of customers, many of whom are in similar situations, went to the ACE Hardware store for supplies including: bleach, mops, rubber gloves, fans, sump pumps, garbage bags, plastic bins, cleaning products and dehumidifiers.
"We're getting wiped out on everything," store manager
But more supplies are being shipped and should arrive tonight or Wednesday, he said. Usually after a storm, people come in from pockets of town, but this time was different.
"It just feels like it's the whole city this time," Dunne said.
'It was like a geyser'
Business has been nonstop, he said, adding he's going from "house to house to house to house" across metro
"Getting business today is not an issue," Ekstrom said.
Cleanup is expected to be going on all week, and recovery teams will come in from other states to help. One of the homes on the block Ekstrom stopped at had 5 feet of water, described by the homeowner as brown-blackish, in the basement.
"It's just a mess," said
Water came into her yard and covered the front porch but didn't make it through the front door, she said. Nearby, a manhole cover came off and water spewed several feet high Monday evening.
"It was like a geyser," she said.
Medical facilities flooded
Floodwaters seeped into some hospitals and doctors' offices, forcing dozens of patients to be relocated, ambulances to be rerouted, and metro
Up to a foot of water collected in the basement of Oakwood Hospital-Dearborn. That included the emergency department, which was forced to reroute ambulances, and the food storage area. Staff was dispatched overnight to purchase food -- muffins, bagels and sandwiches -- for patients at Meijer and
And at
Only premium gas available
At the Clark gas station on
"The tanker trucks couldn't get through," he said. "I was supposed to get supplied at
Flooding was so bad that it even closed the
"All animals are secure and there are no concerns with animal welfare at this time," according to the website, which also says staff members are evaluating the park and beginning to clean up and make repairs. According to the site, the zoo is expected to reopen Wednesday.
Dream Cruise lunch canceled
The flooding impacted the kick-off media gathering for the Woodward Dream Cruise. Dream Cruise spokesman
Because freeways and
Paddling the flood waters
In
Bennett's grandfather,
"The garage is shot. The basement is shot," said
Retrieving abandoned vehicles
"We were dining here and the waters started to rise. It became clear we were trapped here," said Smith, who was in town on a visit.
Patrons stood on tables as they waited to be rescued with water up to the seat cushions before Smith, Backos and others were ferried to the nearby Lowe's parking lot to wait. Smith and Backos eventually walked to Mound and 13 Mile where they were picked up by family.
At one point a fire truck became stranded getting from Lowe's to Buddy's, which is across the street, they said. Staff members at Buddy's were working to clean and dry out the inside of the restaurant and help their returning customers restart their vehicles. It's unclear when the restaurant will reopen.
Wave stops truck
Flooding flushed out an embankment across
He was exiting southbound on the ramp to
The next day, his truck and a green Pontiac sedan were both stuck deep in the mud beneath the embankment, where 10 feet of dirt was missing below
"I figured with all that concrete in there, I could barrel my way out," Payne said. "But once that mud got a hold of them tires, it just sealed me in."
At home in
"I get done here, I get to go clean that mess up," he said, joking that it's a "fun" way to start the week.
Staff Writers
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