Flooding strands cars in western Wayne County, makes some streets impassable

Canton Township ― Torrential rainfall walloped western Wayne County on Thursday, submerging cars on suburban streets, snarling air and car traffic at Detroit Metro Airport and upending plans for travelers as far away as Mexico City as dozens of flights were canceled because of a rainstorm.

Most areas in Metro Detroit received between 1-3 inches of rain by Thursday, while others in the western part of the region saw more than 7 inches Wednesday night, said Trent Frey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township.

A chaotic scene unfolded at Detroit Metro Airport Thursday morning, as travelers arrived on inbound flights from the West Coast only to find the main roadway running through the McNamara Terminal flooded. Travelers departing from the airport were met by a flooded Dingell Drive, blocking their passage to the dropoff lanes.

All this sent Delta Airlines and other airlines scurrying to cancel Detroit-bound flights throughout the day, at least 150 of them at one point, disrupting the itineraries of travelers from Seattle; New York; Washington, D.C.; Mexico City; and points in between.

"The sheer amount of rain in a short period of time is the primary driver for flooding at DTW," the authority said in a Thursday morning statement.

The McNamara Terminal fully reopened around 3:30 p.m., Wayne County Airport Authority officials said, when the northbound and southbound tunnel roads also reopened. The authority said a pump station at the airport lost power Thursday morning and blamed the "sheer amount of rain over a short period of time" for the tunnel road flooding.

The airport saw 3 inches of rain over six hours by 7:53 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

West of the airport, in Canton Township, floodwaters submerged roadways and subdivision streets in muddy water. An aerial image of an apartment complex on Ford Road showed an entire parking lot of vehicles that looked abandoned after up to 7 inches of rain doused the region overnight.

Canton Township resident Tim Moncrieff went to check on his 71-year-old mother, who lives on Laurelwood Court, on Thursday and said the street quickly became flooded. At least 20 inches of water was still flowing down the road as of 3 p.m., he said.

"It literally looks like it's a river," said Moncrieff, 43. "We're just out here watching, waiting to see what happens and whether the storm holds or if it breaks up."

Moncrieff's parents have lived in the house on Laurelwood Court for nearly 40 years, and the level of flooding is unusual, he said. Moncrieff's mother typically receives dialysis treatments on Thursday, and he said he is worried they won't be able to drive to the dialysis center if more rain comes.

"I'll have to find out how the roads are going to be tomorrow if she can get to dialysis," Moncrieff said. "And (see) how dialysis is doing as far as their area because I know that main intersection where they're located was flooded at Ford (Road) and Sheldon (Road)."

Brian Klotz, who also lives on Laurelwood Court, said there was probably 2 feet of water in the road. Klotz, 40, was unable to drive to work and said his sump pumps have been working nonstop to keep the basement dry.

"The rain was coming down so hard. ... I knew this whole street was gonna flood, but I didn't expect this when I woke up today," Klotz said.

Escaping McNamara

The flooded roadways at Detroit Metro's McNamara terminal, the airport's main terminal that handles mostly Delta flights, caused some travelers to attempt to exit the airport complex on foot.

Holly Brown, a Sarasota, Florida, resident who landed at McNamara at 9:30 a.m., didn't know anything about the flooding until she saw it on Facebook. She said the exit tunnel from McNamara wasn't flooded, so loads of people were walking instead of waiting for a shuttle to escape the terminal.

Brown, 33, said she waited at the terminal for about an hour before she and a group of about 50 others started walking toward Eureka. She walked about a half mile from the terminal to Eureka Road, where she was picked up.

Katie Merx, a businesswoman from Saline, was flying into Detroit Metro Thursday morning on an overnight Delta red-eye flight from Seattle that was supposed to arrive at the McNamara terminal around 6 a.m. Because of the storms, the plane "circled Traverse City" before the pilots were given the green light to land in Detroit, Merx said.

Once she arrived, Merx found the airport terminal half deserted. She said she later learned that was because the flooded roadways leading to the terminal were blocking both passengers and airport workers who ride shuttles to work. Cafes and convenience stores inside the McNamara Terminal were closed, and there wasn't communication inside the terminal about what was going on outside, she said. 

Merx's husband, Michael, was trying to pick her up, but parked off Interstate 94 because the airport terminal was inaccessible, she said. 

Traveling for business with an "outdoorsy backpack" as her luggage, Merx attempted to walk the roadways out of the McNamara Terminal.

When she came to the flooded roads, she turned around and walked back to the terminal to change into more "sporty" clothing, thinking she might have to wade through the water. 

“I started walking toward the Eureka Road exit, and it was flooded,” said Merx, a managing director for Lambert in the public relations firm's Detroit office.

When Merx circled back down John D. Dingell Drive, she said she came to the flooded roadway and proceeded to walk along a sidewalk along the inside walls of the tunnels that were flooded, blocking most traffic.

Before she started wading through water, Merx said, a man from Birmingham driving a Ford Bronco waved her down and said she could ride with him through the flooded tunnels on Dingell Drive — the only way out of the airport complex at that point in the morning.

He drove the sport utility vehicle along the outer edge of the tunnel roadway, as close to the wall as possible, she said. 

The Bronco emerged from the flood waters without any problems, Merx said, and the driver dropped her off on Merriman Road, where the sidewalk begins. She said she walked to a McDonald's at Merriman and Smith across the road from the Qwik Park airport parking lot.

Merx, a former journalist who once worked for The Detroit News, said she didn't want to pry for the Bronco owner's name.

“I was very fortunate to run into my Good Samaritan,” Merx said. 

She found her husband waiting at the McDonald's, nearly four hours after her flight was supposed to land.

“It was a good adventure,” Merx said. “I got some good steps in."

More:Partial access to DTW’s McNamara terminal restored amid flooding, officials say

More:Dozens of flights at Detroit Metro Airport canceled due to flooded roadways

In Milwaukee, Aaron Kall, the head of the University of Michigan's debate program, was stranded Thursday after attending the first Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night, where he offered analysis to reporters on the candidates' performance.

His late morning flight across Lake Michigan and the Lower Peninsula was canceled due to the flooding, Kall said.

He is a frequent Delta flier, traveling the country to attend presidential debates during campaign season.

“It’s been a crazy weather situation all summer, and this is a fitting end to it,” Kall said.

Hardest hit areas

The western part of Metro Detroit received the most rain, causing the closure of minor and major roads.

The Michigan Department of Transportation said Interstate 275 at I-94 in Romulus closed early Thursday because of flooding. The northbound and southbound 275 lanes under I-94 are expected to be closed through at least Friday, MDOT spokeswoman Diane Cross said in a late Thursday afternoon email.

Pumps along the state roadways affected by the flooding were working Wednesday night and into Thursday, but they couldn’t keep up with the rainfall and rising water levels in area waterways, said Jeff Cranson, a spokesman for MDOT. Whatever water was pumped out was flowing back in due to the rain and overflow from waterways.

“It’s always been a misnomer that more pumps or generators would completely solve the problem,” Cranson said. “This kind of deluge just can’t be absorbed by the tributaries and the bodies of water they would flow into. It’s just too much rain too fast.”

Cranson said the flooding has become a more frequent issue largely because significant rain events are becoming more common.

“These used to be hundred-year, thousand-year events, and they’re happening more frequently,” Cranson said.

Plymouth and Plymouth Township police said they had several roads flooded as well, making them impassable.

“There was a significant amount of rain in a short period of time, and the storm drains are struggling to keep up,” Plymouth police posted on Facebook.

Gibraltar police also said they are seeing high water levels in most of the city, with intersections flooded too deep for cars to pass.

In Van Buren Township, officials warned of severe flooding on multiple roads. Multiple cars were abandoned on the road and won’t be towed until the water recedes. They cautioned people not to enter the water over the roadways.

Garden City police imposed a flood warning until 8 p.m. Friday. Early Thursday, the stage was nearly 8 feet. The Rouge River was expected to rise above flood stage later Thursday to a crest of 12.5 feet after midnight, according to police.

State Sen. Darrin Camilleri, who represents Van Buren Township, Gibraltar and other Downriver communities and portions of western Wayne County, said Wednesday night's storms were devastating.

"I have been working with the governor’s office and checking in with local officials to help coordinate mitigation efforts and get residents the assistance they need," said Camilleri, D-Trenton, in a statement.

kberg@detroitnews.com

clivengood@detroitnews.com

Staff Writers Charles E. Ramirez, Beth LeBlanc and Jakkar Aimery contributed.