SE Michigan Residents Warned to Remove Valuables from Basements [VIDEO]
While Genesee County and much of Southeast Lower Michigan remain under a flood watch until Thursday (9/23) morning, residents of the Metro Detroit area are being warned to remove valuable items from basements in the event of catastrophic flooding.
With significant rainfall predicted and a history of infrastructure failures, the Great Lakes Water Authority is going all-hands-on-deck in hopes of avoiding a repeat of conditions that wreaked havoc on the area in July.
Suzanne Coffey is the Interim CEO for the GLWA and says staff members are ready to get to work in the event of more pump failures.
"This is a significant amount of rain. It’s forecasted six and a half inches over the next three days,” Coffey tells Detroit's WDIV-TV. "We have our Conner Creek Pump Station fully ready, staffed, people ready to troubleshoot if we need to.”
Unfortunately, the system was designed so that system pumps can only be run in real time so troubleshooting before a significant rainfall event is not possible.
Coffey says the GLWA is urging residents, especially those on Detroit's east side to take precautionary measures by moving people and valuable items out of basements.
“I would suggest that you make sure your valuables are out of the basement. Your pets, yourself are out of the basement," she said.
The bulk of the rain is expected to fall today from mid-morning until the evening hours, with the possibility of one inch of rain per hour falling in some areas.