Dearborn Heights cleaning up, recovering from flood devastation

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Relief efforts are underway in Dearborn Heights to help people affected by the severe flooding this week.

One of those people affected is Ramez Zeidan, who came out for supplies from the Red Cross as he tries to clean up after storm water and sewage filled his basement.

"It's bad. I got about three feet of water," he said. "I've been spending a lot of money and so far nothing is working in my basement. I lost a dryer, heater, water heater."

And he has four kids at home. People have no way to take a hot shower, no way to heat their homes.

"We lost everything," Dearborn Heights homeowners' basements flooded, property destroyed

"The whole neighborhood they had the same problem so I'm feeling sorry for everybody, you know," Zeidan said.

The governor declared a state of emergency for this area as well as some other communities. So many people who have lost so much gathered at the Richard A. Young Center, getting assistance from the Red Cross and help documenting the damage. 

The hardest part will be replacing everything. This type of flooding is often not covered by insurance. Now there's hope that the governor's disaster declaration for Wayne County will free up some federal funds, but that may only be in the form of low interest loans. The situation needs a permanent solution. This is the second major flood here in less than five years.

Flooding traps people in cars, homes in Dearborn Heights neighborhood

"There is tremendous infrastructure work that needs to be done, I think, in terms of upgrading systems but also building catch basins so that overflow water has somewhere to sit," Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said.

"We've been dealing with Ecorse Creek down there for many years so hopefully everybody working together - all the communities and politicians - we can get some progress on that creek," said Lee Gavin, emergency management coordinator for Dearborn Heights.