More than half million people in Michigan without electricity

Staff Reporter: Lightning and flash floods in Michigan have left more than half a million people without power. Extreme levels of lightning and thunderstorms were issued in Macau, Oakland, Wayne and Monroe counties until 8:15 a.m. on Thursday. Several freeways are closed or restricted due to flooding. Nine miles north of Interstate 65 is closed due to flooding. The southbound I-75 interstate 696 is closed, and the I-696 has water in several places. The 10-mile lodge is flooded along both eastbound and interstate 94A in Grosbeck and southbound lanes. Michigan Avenue is flooded on both sides of the I-94 and on both sides of Ford's Southfield Freeway. DTE Energy reported on Thursday morning that more than half a million people in the region were without electricity. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for North Wayne County and South McComb and Oakland County until 9am. Flooded areas near Lansing include Southeast Clinton County, northeast Eaton, and northwest Ingham County. Meanwhile, 45-year-old Michael Butiner of Warren's car got stuck in the water on the ramp at the exit of the Grosbeck Highway from the eastbound interstate 696. He was waiting for the tow truck around 7am. "You have been sitting there for more than an hour," he said. Hopefully, the tow truck will be here soon. The water reached just below his car door. I know it's raining like this, but I've never seen it so bad on this exit ramp before. The DTE said in a statement late Wednesday night that "severe weather has damaged parts of our electrical infrastructure and more than 2,000 power lines have been broken." Our teams are working 18-hour shifts around the clock to restore power and secure power lines as quickly and safely as possible. More than 1,800 DTE personnel are working to restore the service, and we have called in more than 1,000 additional linemen outside the state to assist in the recovery effort. BP/SM