U.S. Army Garrison - Detroit Arsenal, Mich. -- The Detroit Arsenal experienced extreme flooding throughout the installation Aug. 11 when the garrison received nearly five inches of rainfall in a 24 hour period.
This was the area's second largest rainfall in a single day and measured at 4.57 inches. The record total for Detroit measured 4.74 inches on July 31, 1925. The installation closed for one day. Damages are expected to be in the millions of dollars.
The rain began falling at 11 a.m. and continued heavily throughout the evening. This inundation of water flooded streets, basements and underpasses; submerged cars and stranded motorists. It sent patrons at a local restaurant scrambling onto table tops.
Boats navigated flooded under passes. Michigan State Police divers searched cars for victims. The underpass of I-75 at I-696 saw 13 feet of standing water when the pumping station failed. Semi trucks and subcompacts alike dotted the landscape.
Fortunately, no one was injured on the Detroit Arsenal. Many of the buildings suffered from leaky ceilings and wet carpeting near doorways and exterior walls. Two buildings suffered from flooded basements.
Building 200B accumulated seven feet of water in the basement which resulted in a power outage. The cafeteria in B200 had minor water leakage, but without power it will be closed for an indeterminate amount of time. Building 212 had ten feet of water in the basement. Both buildings were pumped dry and are currently being assessed for repairs. Affected personnel were moved to other buildings.
Alan Parks, garrison manager, applauded the incredible effort put forth by our first responders and J&J BMar, the base operations contractor. "We're as back to normal as we can be given the circumstances."
Because of their close proximity to Bear Creek, the guard booths at the Mound Road Access Control Point did not fare well. They were under four feet of water and will need total replacement. The other support buildings at the Mound Road ACP need all porous materials, to include drywall and furniture replaced. The Mound ACP is open for outbound vehicle traffic only from 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. until further notice.
The damage estimate at the garrison just to clean up and get the buildings operational is currently estimates around $3 million but that is expected to rise. This does not include the cost of equipment damaged from the flood.
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