Lincoln Park neighborhood copes with recurring flood damages

City officials advise residents to contact the city through police dispatch to report flood damage

LINCOLN PARK, Mich. – Metro Detroit saw its share of rain, fallen trees, power outages and floods overnight -- when the rain started coming in, Lincoln Park residents started to worry.

The block at Cleveland Avenue and Howard Street flooded and residents are frustrated because they said it’s not the first time.

When Jennifer Trippe let her dog out Sunday morning, she saw that the street outside had flooded and she immediately ran to check her basement.

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“It was coming in so fast that the shop-vac couldn’t do it fast enough,” Trippe said. “I was afraid of getting electrocuted.”

Trippe had six-to-eight inches of water in her basement.

“It’s not coming out of my foundation,” Trippe said. “It’s directly coming out of the sewer and it happens around here all the time.”

Her next-door neighbor, Wenberson Tejada, said his sump pump ran all night.

“We have to take out everything,” Tejada said. “The carpet is no good.”

These two homeowners aren’t alone. A heavy rain can close down highway off-ramps, leave streets inundated and when it comes to cleaning out a basement year after year, it’s getting tedious and expensive.

“Our basements flood around here,” Trippe said. “Our stuff gets ruined and we have to figure out how to haul our stuff to the curb and hope we can clean it up ourselves or do we have to hire a company? It gets expensive.”

Trippe said she would move if she could sell her house.

Lincoln Park city officials said at least a dozen homes experienced flooding and crews with the Department of Public Safety have been doing inspections Saturday.

The storms caused more than floods. Heavy winds toppled trees across Metro Detroit. A tree in front of a vacant house came down Sunday, blocking a woman’s front door and driveway, trapping her car.


About the Authors

Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional.

Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.

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