People in southeast Michigan are submitting damage claims this week after heavy weekend rains led to severe flooding. Local cities and townships are collecting the information, which will make up part of the state’s report to federal emergency officials.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has submitted a request for a presidential declaration of disaster.
FEMA will later review the data to decide if federal assistance is warranted.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) says she’s back in Washington, D.C. to help with that process and “to translate what I’ve been seeing on the ground.”
“I need to move with a sense of urgency in having the Biden administration understand this is coming,” says Tlaib.
Meanwhile, most water from the weekend storm has disappeared on Interstate 94 in Detroit.
It's a critical step to reopening a four-mile stretch of the major urban highway. Street sweepers and trucks with plow-style blades have moved in to get the pavement ready for east-west traffic again in the city.
The highway closure was the result of an intense storm that dumped more than 6 inches of rain Friday and Saturday.
Pumps couldn't keep up with the water due to power failures and other challenges with an interstate that is below ground level in sections.
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