Local officials are assessing storm damage after a historic rainfall led to widespread flooding and damage in Milwaukee and across southeast Wisconsin over the weekend.
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency Monday in response to the storm, which left flooded streets and basements, downed trees and power outages in its wake.
“The flooding seen across Wisconsin over the weekend is unprecedented, and as a state, we are committed to making sure communities have access to every available resource to help local folks and families in need and secure critical infrastructure,” Evers wrote in a statement.
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Waukesha, Milwaukee, Washington and Ozaukee counties were hardest hit by the storm. Most of those areas saw anywhere from 6 to 10 inches of rain Saturday night into Sunday morning. In Milwaukee, there was reportedly 14.5 inches of rain measured at Timmerman Airport.
More than 1,500 people had reported storm damage in Milwaukee County as of Tuesday morning. Staff with the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management were assessing the damage at homes on the city’s north side on Tuesday.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley visited with two homeowners whose homes were damaged on the city’s north side.
“We have disaster teams that are out in the community right now, basically surveying to see what has happened throughout this severe flood,” Crowley said. “And so, quite frankly, we need as many people as possible to be calling 2-1-1 to report their damage.”
Crowley met with Da-Lin Anderson, who estimated there was around 4 feet of water in the street Sunday morning.
“Woke up around 3:30 in the morning, whole basement was flooded,” Anderson told Crowley.
Performing the assessments is an important step in requesting assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Chris McGowan, the deputy director of the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management. The state of emergency also paves the way for the state to request federal assistance.
In Evers’ state of emergency announcement, he said the Wisconsin Emergency Management is working with counties to assess damage.
McGowan said staff with the office are working to confirm damage reports that residents have made by calling 2-1-1. He said he believes the county will meet the “threshold” to receive financial federal relief assistance.
But in an email, a spokesperson with the Federal Emergency Management Agency said there is no “threshold dollar amount that must be met when determining a major disaster declaration for Individual Assistance.”
“FEMA considers a number of factors to measure the severity, magnitude and impact of the disaster to evaluate the need for assistance to individuals and households,” the spokesperson wrote.
The spokesperson wrote, as of Tuesday afternoon, no “requests for federal assistance” have been made to the office.
“We remain in close contact with state officials who, in support of local emergency management officials, are currently handling the response to this event,” the spokesperson stated.
Evers toured damaged areas in Wauwatosa Monday night. Wauwatosa Fire Chief Jim Case said Evers viewed drone footage and went to Hart Park and the community’s Village area.
“He stopped by. We were able to have some of our responders that were actually working Sunday morning — he was able to meet them, kind of get some of their input,” Case said.
Case said teams with the city also performed damage assessments Tuesday morning.
“It’s a little early for us to give you a good number on number of homes affected. I will say it will be in the hundreds,” said David Simpson, Wauwatosa’s director of public works.
Hart Park experienced extensive damage to the playing field and playground area. It remained closed Tuesday.
“We’re working on repair estimates, as we speak, trying to find help … with contractors and various entities to do that,” Simpson said.
Tom Grisa, director of public works for the city of Brookfield, said he believes hundreds of homes in his community were impacted by flood. He said he heard from one homeowner who had water up to the ceiling in their basement.
Nicole Kelly, a spokesperson for Waukesha County, said 229 residents had reported damage to the county as of late Monday night.
“We also believe some people have found alternative ways to report damage, such as contacting their municipalities directly,” Kelly wrote in an email.
Kelly estimated there was $2 million in damages to county roads.
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