Motor City Underwater

The highway exit near my house flooded completely.

    

              It was a dark and stormy night, and I was home alone comforting my dog who was having a panic attack. My parents had just left for a late night grocery store run, so I was in charge of watching the dog as she anxiously paced. Suddenly, I got a call from my mom. “Your dad stopped in a huge puddle, and our car broke down in the Meijer parking lot. We have to wait for a tow truck to come, so I don’t know when we’re going to be home.”

Once I get off the phone with her I glance out the window to see the streets flooding. I had a bad feeling that my parents weren’t returning anytime soon. A few more hours pass by and I’m on the verge of tears; strange noises are coming from within the house and I’m stressed about my parents not coming home. I called my mom and she had a family friend pick me up because they have a pickup truck that’s higher than the flooding. After dropping me off, they rescued my parents from the Meijer parking lot because the tow truck wouldn’t come until the morning. Later we returned home and passed out after our long day.

During the summer of 2014, the Midwest experienced heavy rainfall in June, which led to flooding and cooler temperatures in July. In August, the metro Detroit area received 5-6 inches of rain over the course of a few hours. Although that seems like a small amount, it led to five feet of flooding in some areas as drainage ditches and sewer systems overflowed. I could see people kayaking down the street from my porch. In my city, Sterling Heights, the flooding led to $62 million in water damage.  Many cars, homes, and businesses were destroyed and/or flooded. Additionally, nearly 1,000 vehicles were trapped on the roads. During the event, extra emergency responders were called in, and the Sterling Heights boat team evacuated 100 people from a neighboring city. A couple of blocks away, the GM and Chrysler plants had to shut down due to flooding, while the Ford plant was only slowed down. 

Two residents of the metro Detroit area died as a result of the flooding. One woman drowned in her basement and a man died pushing his car off a nearby freeway. There was also a false news report of a thirty year old woman, Jena David, dying in an ambulance that got stuck in the flooding. In reality, she arrived at the hospital and made a full recovery. David read the papers and realized they were writing about her, so came out and cleared the air.

After a few days, the streets returned to normal and people went back to their everyday lives. My family still talks about the time my dad got our car stuck in the Meijer parking lot.

Works Cited

The Associated Press. “Flooding slows production at Detroit automakers.” telegram.com, 12 August 2014, https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/north/2014/08/12/flooding-slows-production-at-detroit/36693447007/. Accessed 27 November 2023.

Cook, Jameson. “Sterling Heights woman reported dead in Warren flood is alive.” Macomb Daily, 15 August 2014, https://www.macombdaily.com/2014/08/15/sterling-heights-woman-reported-dead-in-warren-flood-is-alive/. Accessed 27 November 2023.

Delaney, Sean. “STERLING HEIGHTS: Officials say flooding caused approximately $62 million in damages.” Macomb Daily, 20 August 2014, https://www.macombdaily.com/2014/08/20/sterling-heights-officials-say-flooding-caused-approximately-62-million-in-damages/. Accessed 27 November 2023.

Hunter, George. “'I'm alive': Sterling Heights woman, 30, rushes to correct reports she died in flooding.” The Detroit News, 15 August 2014, https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/metro-detroit/2014/08/15/im-alive-sterling-heights-woman-30-rushes-to-correct-reports-she-died-in-flooding/14143119/. Accessed 27 November 2023.

LeComte, Douglas. “U.S. Weather Highlights 2014: Drought and Polar Vortex.” Weatherwise, 2015, pp. 12-19. EBSCOhost, https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=8bf07893-eee4-4cfb-bb20-6394beb28e84%40redis. Accessed 27 November 2023.