Macomb County officials have declared a state of emergency due to the severe flooding caused by the overflow of the Clinton River.

Officials say by declaring the local state of emergency, communities are authorized to follow procedures that normally are not allowable during daily operations, including mandating overtime, spending emergency funds, issuing public health alerts and warnings, and opening emergency shelters.

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The state of emergency declaration also enables the county to request state assistance from the governor's office. This assistance can come in the form of manpower, equipment, supplies and up to $30,000 in state aid to help offset local costs of emergency response. If the state determines that the event is too great for the state to manage alone, the governor may ask the president of the United States for federal assistance.

Macomb County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nancy M. White stated, "We are doing all that we can in order to help Macomb County residents during this time of crisis. This area is experiencing flood conditions that have not been seen in many, many years. Many roads in Macomb County are still closed due to flooding, particularly in the northern end of the county. Various local roads throughout northern Macomb County are still covered with water and may be hazardous, although the Clinton River and its branches have crested and have begun to recede.

Flood waters poured over parks and yards and into basements Monday as some of the worst flooding in 30 years hit Michigan.

Heavy rains caused the Clinton River in Macomb County to overflow, closing roads in the area and flooding homes and businesses. Some people who tried to drive through floodwaters found themselves stranded, and early Monday authorities had to rescue at least one man who was swept away from his vehicle.

Sheriff Mark Hackel said the man drove around barriers set up to prevent drivers from entering the flooded roads and had to be pulled to safety by the sheriff's department Marine Division and township firefighters. Hackel said people were warned to stay away from the flooded areas if possible.

"It's going to be like that for a while," Hackel said. "It's not just going to recede if we don't have any more rain. The water is dumping into other feeder streams in other communities and dumping into the Clinton River."

Matt Schenk was forced to walk through the high waters when his truck stalled at North Avenue and 21 Mile Road.

"The road wasn't blocked, so by the time I noticed the road was flooded, it was too late to back up and my car stalled in the middle of it," said Schenk.

Dave Furman and his family were pushing water from one room to the next in their Macomb Township home as they tried to clean up the overflow from the Clinton River.

Furman said in the 17 years he's lived there, the river's water never got that close to his home, Local 4 reported.

"To think the damage it's doing, that's the worst part of it. You figure it's going to get under the wood and the siding and everything … the carpets and drywall. It's going to be a mess to clean up," said Furman.

More Than 500,000 Residents Without Power

The storms that began Friday knocked out power to at least 505,000 area homes and businesses, about 94,000 of which remained blacked out Monday morning.

The storms also spawned tornadoes near Flint and Lansing on Sunday, but little damage was reported.

Three deaths occurred Friday in southwestern Michigan when high winds blew trees onto vehicles.

Local 4Caster Eric Wilson said metro Detroit would get a break Monday but a new wave of storms will roll in Tuesday with an 80 percent chance of rain. That's not good news to people who were hoping to see water begin to recede from flooded streets and homes.

More than 20 counties in southeastern and east-central lower Michigan remained under flood warnings until noon Monday.

The Lower Rouge at Inkster and the Clinton at Macomb County's Macomb Township were being carefully watched, the weather service said.

A tornado touched down about 5:30 p.m. Sunday near Williamston, about 15 miles east of Lansing in Ingham County, and a second touched down about 6 p.m. near Montrose in Genesee County, the weather service said.

There were no reports of significant damage.

In Wayne County, Dearborn Heights was among the communities hard hit by floods.

In Redford, trees fell on top of cars Sunday causing much damage. The wind was so strong, many residents thought a tornado was ripping through the town.

Three people were injured when a construction wall toppled over at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport Sunday. Also, high winds caused some luggage carries to crash into two airplanes. Both planes were damaged.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport got 2.82 inches of rain in the 24 hours ending at 11 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service said. With 7.98 inches of rain so far this month, the Romulus airfield was near its record May rain level of 8.05 inches, set in 1943.

The reason for the repeated waves of thunderstorms has been a weather front stalled over southern Michigan.