Michigan governor declares flood emergency in Wayne County

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency in Wayne County in response to widespread flooding resulting from this week's heavy rainfall.

Whitmer acted Thursday after Wayne County Executive Warren Evans issued a similar declaration. Evans pointed out about 3,000 homes in the county including Detroit have been damaged and local resources are inadequate to deal with it.

With her declaration, Whitmer is making available state resources in co-operation with local response and recovery efforts in the designated area.

The National Weather Service says about 3.6 inches (9.1 centimetres) of rain fell from 12:53 p.m. Tuesday until 3:53 a.m. Wednesday.

The rain swamped homes and closed a stretch of the Southfield Freeway in both directions.

The weather service says a flood watch remains in effect through Friday morning in a six-county area including Wayne.

Sandbags were being stacked in Detroit's Jefferson-Chalmers neighbourhood to curb flooding.