India, Feb. 20 -- A major water main break in Southwest Detroit early Monday, February 17, left hundreds of residents stranded in freezing conditions. The break occurred around 3:30 a.m. when a 54-inch steel pipe, originally built in the 1930s, burst near 1020 Beard Street and North Green Street, close to Interstate 75.

Authorities suspect a combination of aging infrastructure and extreme cold caused the break. Detroit experienced temperatures as low as 1.4degF (-17degC), with wind chills dropping even further.

"This was a failure of a Detroit-built, GLWA-maintained water main," Mayor Mike Duggan admitted, NBC reports. "That's the truth, and we're going to fix it."

Within hours, streets were submerged under nearly five feet of water, f...