Dearborn Heights residents heartbroken with more flooding from the Ecorse River

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Dearborn Heights residents were knee-deep in water after severe storms rolled through Metro Detroit late Wednesday going into Thursday.

Dig deeper:

While FOX 2 was there, resident Natalie Fera flagged us down off Hanover Street and showed crews her damaged basement.

"Had to pull up my baseboards at 5 in the morning. Thankfully I have nice neighbors," she said. "Every time it rains my heart starts skipping."

Fans, pumps, and humidifiers are not her first rodeo. The hand-me-down home was one she inherited from her parents, who died.

Her dad redid the basement before he passed.

"Now I’m ripping it all up just to do it all over again," she said.

Local perspective:

Moving out of Dearborn Heights is not an option for residents as it is hard to leave many memories behind.

Meanwhile, the Prestons say when they signed their papers to close on the house, they were misled, as they felt the gut punch of Wednesday night's storm.

"I went downstairs, and I heard water and water was rushing through my back door," said Gary Preston.

It’s been going on for decades, as the Ecorse River in South Dearborn Heights overflows onto the streets and into homes.

"If you’re going to keep raising my taxes every year, let's fix the problem," said Susan Preston.

Mayors and council members have offered solutions to many.

What's next:

Mayor Bill Bazzi surveyed the damage all day Thursday. FOX 2 asked him what the fix was. It’s not a short answer.

He says Wayne County is actively working on flood mitigation upstream. It includes clearing a jam in the creek, along with the Army Corps of Engineers working on a retention basin.

At the end of the day, the homes are in a flood zone.

"They shouldn’t have built homes here in the 60s, but they did, and now we have to fix it," Bazzi said.