Heavy rain causes flood warning for Wayne, Oakland, Macomb counties

(WJBK) - Heavy rain has caused flooding in and around metro Detroit.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for parts of Wayne, Macomb tonight until 12:30 a.m.

I-696 was closed at Evergreen both ways due to flooding, while I-75 was closed at 696 due to flooding. Flooding was also reported on Southfield and M-59. 

A pumping station lost power that handles flooding on I-696, said MDOT spokesperson Diane Cross. Generators were being brought out to restore pumping efforts and clear the water.

DTE says about 7,400 customers are without power. Crews will be working around the clock to restore services, a spokesperson said.

The outages are scattered throughout the metro area. For a look at where the power is out, visit the DTE Energy outage map here. 

Heavy bands of rain delivered about one and a half inches of water per hour, says Weather Authority Derek Kevra. As the system moved from south to north, it was not coming to an end and the water was rising quickly.

Michigan State Lt. Michael Shaw is among the drivers stuck in the I-696 and Evergreen backup.

"We're seeing a lot of backups down 696 to the Lodge and also pushing down to Telegraph," he said. "The places that usually flood Southfield and Michigan Avenue are starting to see flooding as well.

"We are telling people to be patient, it only takes a half a foot of water to drown out your vehicle."

Numerous cities were under flash flood warnings including downtown Detroit, Romulus, Sterling Heights, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Westland, Wyandotte,  Rochester Hills, Lincoln Park and Royal Oak.