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Wayne County declares emergency over flooding

Posted at 7:14 PM, May 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-02 19:16:14-04

DETROIT (AP) — Wayne County Executive Warren Evans has declared a state of emergency following widespread flooding and is calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to do the same so state and possibly federal resources are available for the response.

The declaration Thursday evening said about 3,000 homes in the county including Detroit have been damaged and local resources are inadequate to deal with it.

The National Weather Service says about 3.6 inches of rain fell from 12:53 p.m. Tuesday until 3:53 a.m. Wednesday.

The heavy rainfall swamped homes and closed a stretch of the Southfield Freeway in both directions.

The weather service says a flood watch remains in effect through Friday morning in a six-county area including Wayne.

Sandbags were being stacked in Detroit’s Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood to curb flooding.