DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – Dearborn Heights police and emergency management officials are monitoring weather conditions overnight as a flood watch remains in effect across Southeast Michigan through Thursday night, city officials said.
The city is tracking conditions through the National Weather Service, with the mayor’s office and the communications department on standby. Officials said residents received text, phone, and email notifications Tuesday morning, along with social media alerts.
Officials warned that excessive runoff could cause flooding in rivers, creeks, and other low-lying areas. Creeks and streams may overflow their banks, and flooding is possible in low-lying areas and at low-water crossings.
In Dearborn Heights, neighborhoods near Ecorse Creek are among the most flood-prone.
“You wake up, and there is water all the way up almost to the door sometimes, and even when you go farther down, there is water that’ll come up past your knees,” said Denise Watson, who lives near the creek.
Watson said the area floods consistently each year. She said she filed a FEMA claim in 2024 after her basement flooded, receiving $250 — a fraction of what she estimated was $1,500 to $2,000 to clean up.
City officials said Dearborn Heights is working with Wayne County on cleaning and maintenance of Ecorse Creek as part of a longer-term flood mitigation effort.
The city has also secured a FEMA buyout grant to fund the purchase and demolition of flood-prone homes near the creek, with the land to be converted to green space to help reduce flooding over time.
Residents living in the neighborhood said they were split on the idea of buyouts.
“Yes, because it does seem to flood over here a lot, no, because I do feel bad for the residents that have been here a really long time,” Watson said.
After years of severe flooding, residents like Watson said they would consider leaving if a buyout offer was fair.
“I haven’t been here that long, so I would take it, yeah,” Watson said.