By Matthew Dolan
DETROIT--The heaviest rain to hit in almost a century left a
trail of flooded highways, mud-strewn roads littered with abandoned
cars and waterlogged basements across the Detroit metropolitan
area.
The state police warned drivers away from many of the major
roadways knitting the city to its suburbs across southeastern
Michigan Tuesday morning. Law enforcement authorities cautioned
against motorists trying to cross flooded streets after the storm
dumped more than 6 inches of rain in suburban Detroit. Thousands of
motorists were delayed for hours Monday night as several highways
turned into virtual rivers. The Associated Press reported that one
woman died after her vehicle was stranded in three feet of
water.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Monday's series of storms in
Detroit "dumped the most rain it has seen in a single day in 89
years."
The city's water and sewerage department's operational systems
didn't fail during the deluge, despite flooding that made major
roadways impassable, Mr. Duggan said Tuesday in a statement.
"Unfortunately, the volume of rain--over 5 inches in some
areas--overwhelmed sewer systems, causing widespread flooding," he
said. As of Tuesday morning, water levels were subsiding and most
road flooding had receded, he said.
But many roads in the region were still flooded late Tuesday
morning, according to Michigan State Police.
The National Weather Service warned that brief heavy downpours
were still possible later Tuesday, potentially aggravating flooding
concerns by slowing the recession of elevated water. The epic rain
on Monday was concentrated in a four-hour period in which four to 6
inches fell across the region, according to weather service
officials. The Detroit metropolitan airport had its second highest
rainfall total in a single day, just shy of the July, 31, 1925
record, said Sara Schultz, meteorologist with the National Weather
Services Detroit-Pontiac area office.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder surveyed the flood damage Tuesday
afternoon, pledging the resources of the state police and other
agencies to assist communities clear roads strewed with disabled
vehicles, reopen water-covered highways and help homeowners and
businesses recover from flood damage. But Mr. Snyder said he didn't
yet see the need to call in the Michigan National Guard to
assist.
The region's auto makers didn't escape unscathed.
Hardest hit were Chrysler plants in Detroit, Sterling Heights
and Warren. Workers were sent home early from the company's
Sterling Heights plant Monday night. General Motors Co. closed its
sprawling Warrant Technical Center campus Tuesday, affecting 19,000
people.
Ford Motor Co. said its plant operations on Monday saw
production slowdowns at a truck and stamping plant in Dearborn, an
assembly plant in Wayne, an axle and transmission plants in
Sterling Heights, and a stamping plant in Woodhaven, Mich. Ripple
effects were felt at Ford plants in Chicago and Kentucky from
flooding at Michigan-based suppliers, according to Ford. By
Tuesday, production schedules resumed, the company said
Jeff Bennett and Mike Ramsey contributed to this article.
Write to Matthew Dolan at matthew.dolan@wsj.com
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