The City of Taylor is requesting residents who have experienced severe tree damage and are seeking aid to report it to Department of Public Works officials on the Fix It! Taylor program.
If you have a downed tree affecting a power line, or another power related power, go to the DTE website.
City officials reporting that there is no power at the Heritage Park Petting Farm and many trees are down in the general area. The City does not know when it will reopen. Golf, Parks & Recreation Director Jeff Dobek reports that the cleanup may take some time.
Severe winds and rains rocked the Detroit area and hit Taylor especially hard. DPW workers are currently on the job across the community, attempting to assess damage and proceed forward. Some trees and power poles in the Eureka Road business corridor and on Pardee Road were sheared off three feet above the ground during the heavy winds.
"We're asking residents who have severe tree damage and need assistance to report it on the Fix It! Taylor program, so that our DPW foremen can access it immediately and map out a strategy to aid our homeowners," Mayor Rick Sollars said. "We ask residents to be patient, because the storm created a lot of damage in the community, and our DPW is not going to get to everyone immediately."
If you have downed limbs, be advised to move them to the curbside and leave them there. The City of Taylor will pick them up at a later date.
DO NOT LEAVE TREE LIMBS IN THE STREET. Leave them on your lawn, nearest the curb, for pickup.
The National Weather Service and the Detroit Free Press reported that severe thunderstorms heavy rains caused flooding on some Detroit-area freeways, forcing officials to close portions of interstates 696 and 94. I-696 was closed in both directions early Friday in Warren, and water over the roadway closed I-94 in Harper Woods. Some street flooding also was reported in suburban Detroit.
Utility crews were mobilized Friday in Detroit to clear streets of water and debris. The flooding in Detroit occurred primarily on the city's lower east side, according to the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department.
Crews were to pump water from streets and replace manhole covers that were moved by the water.
Parts of Detroit received nearly 3 inches of rain. The immense volume of rainwater was too great, even with all equipment and pump station systems functioning properly and at full capacity, the Great Lakes Water Authority said.
As of 10 p.m. Friday July 8, DTE Energy was reporting 13,908 customers reporting some type of power outages in Taylor.