Heavy rains knock out power, flood basements in Berkley

Heavy rains caused some major flooding and power outages in metro Detroit Monday evening. Many are still feeling the effects Tuesday, though.

Thousands, scattered across the area, are still without power Tuesday morning. Many are dealing with the aftermath of flooded basements, too.

It's happened so many times, you go into" get it done" mode," says Angela Allen. She spent her fourth anniversary of living in her Berkley home drying it out once again. She says this is the sixth time since her family has lived here that heavy downpours caused water to rise in her basement. She showed us pictures as the unfortunate proof.

"I went in the laundry and it was just geysering up from the floor, the storm drain, just, shooting in the air," she says.

At one point the water was more than a foot high, drenching whatever it came into contact with. Everything from furniture to her furnace is ruined.

She's not the only on Tyler Street facing that fate.

"It happened within 45 seconds, and during that time I rushed to get all my electrical stuff, my computer, my humidifier, but still I couldn't get everything," Adam Wolf says.

Monday's storm left thousands around metro Detroit in the dark and forced drivers to take detours. Interstate 696 at Evergreen looked more like a lake after a pump house lost power. Within hours, a generator had the roadway back to normal but it take longer for life to return to normal for those dealing with flooded homes.

"I wouldn't bet anything on [this being the last time my basement floods], not even a dollar," Allen says.

Several other neighbors in Berkley have also reported flooded basements and power outages. The City of Berkley is asking residents to report addresses of flooded basements by emailing rainevent2017@BerkleyMich.net. 

DTE Energy says they're working on restoring power to the scattered areas. At last check, 8,400 people across the metro area are without power.

The hardest hit areas in terms of power outages are Hazel Park, Ferndale and the Clawson area. DTE says they're hoping they can get the power restored by Tuesday afternoon.