Water Main Break Leaves The Streets Of Southwest Detroit Littered With Frozen, Flooded Cars

The streets in one part of Detroit, Michigan currently look like something out of an apocalyptic climate change movie. After a massive water main broke in Southwest Detroit, vehicles all over the area were left flooded, damaged or outright totaled, some even being frozen in place.

The water main broke during the early morning hours of February 17, according to local news,  in a densely populated neighborhood of southwest Detroit. It's a total mess as both homes and vehicles in the area are flooded, and some residents are dealing with vehicles that have to be totaled out because of the damage. Michael Muzzey is one of those residents. He awoke Monday morning to both of his cars, one of which is a brand new truck, being completely flooded. From WXYZ Detroit:

"Resident Michael Muzzey says two thoughts went through his head when he woke up early Monday morning.

"The first thing I thought was holy bleep. The second thing I thought was what am I gonna do about the cars," he said.

His two cars, including a brand-new truck, are totaled. Water has entered the interior, freezing over and damaging them beyond fixing."

Sadly Muzzey isn't alone in dealing with damage. He says a few of his neighbors are dealing with the same thing, and it's the same story all over the area as residents deal with the mess of frozen and broken vehicles. Local Roberto Barco told The Detroit Free Press that his truck ran but was making weird noises and that all of his electrician tools were frozen. He can't get to work. "We got to work or else we ain't going to get our bills paid," he told Freep. Barco is also dealing with flooding in his home.

In total, 83 families had to be evacuated and put up in local hotels that are being paid for by the city. City officials didn't say how many vehicles were damaged from the flooding, but they did tell residents to file an insurance claim as soon as possible. Detroit police are also working to get damaged vehicles towed out of the area if residents need it.

Detroit's Fox 2 says that the Great Lakes Water Authority, which manages all water and sewage in southeast Michigan, says that the source of the main break was a 95-year-old pipe that was designed to be inaccessible. This also isn't the first water main break the area has seen this winter. CBS News says while Detroit has been dealing with water main breaks for the past few weeks, the February 17th break is the worst from a damage standpoint.