DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Dearborn Heights neighborhood is all too familiar with the damage that can be left behind after severe storms, saying the flooding that happens after heavy rainfall has grown tiresome.
Residents say once the rain comes in, Ecorse Creek that runs along the entire neighborhood starts to flood and then their basements and homes are the next to go.
“Right now, I have things put up," resident Randy Lopez said. "Anything of value, we got things in totes.”
Lopez has lived at his home in the area of Van Born Road and Telegraph Road in Dearborn Heights since 2016. He was there in 2019, when heavy downpours created dangerous flooding conditions. Some residents had to even be rescued by boat from their homes.
Watch our coverage from May 2019 in the video player below:
"When it did come in, we only got like 9 inches, but I know many of our other neighbors got feet," Lopez said.
He says he wasn’t prepared back then, but he is now. The stress that comes over him every time a storm rolls through the area, though, never goes away.
"It definitely does, it causes anxiety," Lopez said.
Kyia Dingwall has only lived in the neighborhood for two years and already she says she’s received the warm neighborhood welcome from Mother Nature.
“Sunday, I had a tree incident 'cause it was rain and wind, so my neighbor’s pine tree fell on my garage," she said.
As Dingwall's garage roof lays bare, she's preparing for yet another round of rain. Just a little over a year ago, she experienced her first real bout of flooding as well.
"When I went to open the front door, I saw that it was like right almost entering the house," she said about the flood waters. "I didn’t think it was gonna happen to me and then it happened within a year of living here."
Dingwall now has tools she can use to try to avoid the stresses of dealing with the flooding, but she still watches and waits to see how bad it gets.
“I’m gonna make sure I stay up tonight once it restarts and then I’ll be able to turn my sump pump on, so hopefully I can avoid it this time," she said about Wednesday's storms.
Both of these residents live along Ecorse Creek. Last year, the county began projects to clear trees to help with the flooding. Tesidents say they hope those efforts work.
Watch our coverage from August 2024 about the project in the video player below:
