Detroit Area Flooding - 08/11/2014

**DTWflyer** · August-13-14, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by GPCharles

Every home on our block in GP Park had flooded basements.

GPP separated storm from sanitary about 10 years ago. Sooo... why did our basements flood. Our floor drains [[and houses) are hooked up to the sanitary sewer. You would think that storm water shouldn't effect the sanitary sewers.

It lowers the risk, but won't always prevent it. If there is a lot of flooding/standing water, it can breach into the sanitary sewer system particularly through manhole covers, other access points, or even other communities. If you see 3-4 feet of standing water in a roadway, that is a major concern because it could find its way into the sanitary sewer and the as things start to back up it may find its way into your basement.

**DTWflyer** · August-13-14, 10:20 AM

The biggest problem out of all this is that MDOT and local municipalities are completely blowing their budgets on public services and road maintenance/repair. Add this event onto the record snow/cold from Winter 2014 and they are going to need additional money.

The reality is there is no such thing as "federal funding". Federal funding/aide whatever you want to call it is taxpayer money coming from somewhere [[or not in the case of just adding more national debt).

**hybridy** · August-13-14, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by 48307

The Warren Tech Center is closed today.

family that works there has been told closed through monday

**DTWflyer** · August-13-14, 10:36 AM

I bet no one ever heard of the Bear Creek before....through Hazel Park, Warren, and underneath the GM Tech Center. It is almost entirely underground, through an urbanized area and comes above ground right by the Buddy's Pizza and Lowes at Van Dyke & 13 Mile were it empties into Red Run. With it completely full and backed up and nowhere to go, all the water flooded the roads and the buildings in the Tech Center.

**Lowell** · August-13-14, 10:38 AM

And another 1980's Detroit storm aftermath inspired painting...

In those days it was also a fitting metaphor for Detroit in the 80's as both the city and the auto industry seemed to be in a death spiral.

**beanietek** · August-13-14, 10:59 AM

lowell - beautiful paintings!! - that storm was biblical - glad it's over and that I-94 if opened at wyoming.

**jackie5275** · August-13-14, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

My office in Dearborn is about 50% attendance today.

I had a lunch meeting to attend downtown yesterday in the Campus Martius area. I usually park by Greektown & walk, cutting through Fishbone's everytime. There was not at single soul in Fishbone's at about 12:20 pm yesterday.

**jackie5275** · August-13-14, 11:04 AM

I have never seen as many restoration services trucks around the area as I did yesterday. There were some I'd never even heard of before.

**Jimaz** · August-13-14, 11:15 AM

Same storm, different state:

Storm shatters New York state record as 13 inches of rain saturates Islip

Rainfall amounts reached 13.26 inches at Long Island MacArthur Airport between midnight and 8 a.m., according to a preliminary estimate by the National Weather Service.

Holy cow!

**DTWflyer** · August-13-14, 11:47 AM

Tuesday morning, Detroit did not even get a mention during the top headlines during the news segment on the NBC Today Show. [[Ch. 4 cut back to local coverage of the floods after the first 20 minutes of the show)

Today, top headlines was the flooding on the East Coast. At first before they said where it was, I thought I was watching day-old footage from Detroit area on Monday.

I joked yesterday morning, that anywhere else in the country and this would have received national, top-story headlines. Since it was Detroit, they just don't care.

**dtowncitylover** · August-13-14, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

Tuesday morning, Detroit did not even get a mention during the top headlines during the news segment on the NBC Today Show. [[Ch. 4 cut back to local coverage of the floods after the first 20 minutes of the show)

Today, top headlines was the flooding on the East Coast. At first before they said where it was, I thought I was watching day-old footage from Detroit area on Monday.

I joked yesterday morning, that anywhere else in the country and this would have received national, top-story headlines. Since it was Detroit, they just don't care.

This happened during the snow storms as well. Chicago then straight to New York. Michigan was just "the Great Lakes", if it was "mentioned" at all.

**eno** · August-13-14, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by UMich06

Is there something about I-96 that just prevents it from getting flooded? There was not a drop of water on the road today, and the only flooding I saw yesterday was right near the Telegraph exit ramp [[where it closes). It could be that the western suburbs didn't get nearly as much rain. I live in Northville and haven't heard of any flooded basements [[yet).

I live in Northville, around Seven Mile/Northville Road. A friend and I went to the Livonia AMC and came out around 6Pish to see a deluge flooding the front of the theater. The entrance off Haggerty is graded down to the theater where the storm sewers were unable to keep up with the flooding water. We went to the north of the theater and water was coming into the theater thru the bottom of the door. We exited on the northeast exits at the back of the theater only to find an ankle high flow of water coming off the front. I got to the car OK and picked up my friend from the back exits. I saw no flooding on the ride home from 7 Mile/Haggerty going west. Our townhouse was without power until yesterday afternoon. No flooded basements in our complex, King's Mill.

**surenowinlife** · August-13-14, 12:32 PM

So far since the storm, I've had a dozen cars brought in after getting caught in the floods.
3 so far are totaled from the insurance companys. Remember folks they have tires not rudders.
The air intake for most new cars is only about a foot off the ground!

**Gistok** · August-13-14, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

The reality is there is no such thing as "federal funding". Federal funding/aide whatever you want to call it is taxpayer money coming from somewhere [[or not in the case of just adding more national debt).

This is true... but since Michigan is still a "donor" state where we send more to Washington than we get back.... that it's nice to get more of our money back... and all attempts to do so are most welcome!!

**old guy** · August-13-14, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

Tuesday morning, Detroit did not even get a mention during the top headlines during the news segment on the NBC Today Show. [[Ch. 4 cut back to local coverage of the floods after the first 20 minutes of the show)

Today, top headlines was the flooding on the East Coast. At first before they said where it was, I thought I was watching day-old footage from Detroit area on Monday.

I joked yesterday morning, that anywhere else in the country and this would have received national, top-story headlines. Since it was Detroit, they just don't care.

I saw quite a bit of coverage about the flooding in Detroit last night on the network news. Don't remember which channel. They were showing end loaders picking up cars out of flooded areas of the freeway and hauling them away. They also had a small segment about it on our local news in Wisconsin.

**RO_Resident** · August-13-14, 01:02 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

This is true... but since Michigan is still a "donor" state where we send more to Washington than we get back.... that it's nice to get more of our money back... and all attempts to do so are most welcome!!

That's no longer true. All states are currently 'donee' states because of how the Highway Trust Fund is being [[or not being) funded these days.

**Scottathew** · August-13-14, 01:19 PM

As of this posting, I-75 is still closed between 8 Mile and 11 Mile. There appears to be some serious erosion issues. Also, the pumping station appears to be damaged as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if I-75 is closed for the rest of the week. I hope I'm wrong.

**Lowell** · August-13-14, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

Tuesday morning, Detroit did not even get a mention during the top headlines during the news segment on the NBC Today Show. [[Ch. 4 cut back to local coverage of the floods after the first 20 minutes of the show)

Today, top headlines was the flooding on the East Coast. At first before they said where it was, I thought I was watching day-old footage from Detroit area on Monday.

I joked yesterday morning, that anywhere else in the country and this would have received national, top-story headlines. Since it was Detroit, they just don't care.

This famous NYC / East coast view of the rest of the world always spoke volumes.

**Gistok** · August-13-14, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by RO_Resident

That's no longer true. All states are currently 'donee' states because of how the Highway Trust Fund is being [[or not being) funded these days.

OK... but I was speaking generally about total tax collections... not just the highways....

.... although I didn't make that clear...

**poobert** · August-13-14, 01:49 PM

Just a couple months ago a few people here were screaming about how Michigan is best thing since canned beer because it was allegedly safe from natural disasters. So much for that.

**Hermod** · August-13-14, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

OK... but I was speaking generally about total tax collections... not just the highways....

.... although I didn't make that clear...

Yes, but then that adds in social security benefits [[people head south after they retire) and defense spending [[how many 25,000 man military bases in your state).

**Johnnny5** · August-13-14, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by poobert

Just a couple months ago a few people here were screaming about how Michigan is best thing since canned beer because it was allegedly safe from natural disasters. So much for that.

Although a couple of people did lose their lives I'm not so sure this qualifies as a natural disaster [[At least not a significant one). When you compare this to the Sandy related flooding on the East Coast, earthquakes in California, tornadoes in the plains and hurricanes all along the Southern coastline this is rather minimal in comparison.

The fact that this flooding is being considered so serious is because events like this are so very rare here.

**animatedmartian** · August-13-14, 02:48 PM

It seemed more like a man-made disaster purely because of sewer systems overflowing. Obviously if the system wasn't overcapacity, then very little flooding probably would have occurred. Nonetheless, it was a significant weather event.

**hybridy** · August-13-14, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by old guy

I saw quite a bit of coverage about the flooding in Detroit last night on the network news. Don't remember which channel. They were showing end loaders picking up cars out of flooded areas of the freeway and hauling them away. They also had a small segment about it on our local news in Wisconsin.

CBS morning show mentioned detroit floods before cutting to footage of long island flooding on tues...

**Bill Simpson** · August-13-14, 04:31 PM

I'm surprised the weather people aren't getting more flack. I recall seeing a forecast of .6 inches of rain for the day and thinking the grass seed I planted would like that. Little did I know it would all get washed away and end up in the road in front of my driveway.

This forecast miss is like saying we'll get .5 inches of snow, and getting 12 inches.