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FEMA reviews flood damage to public property in Wisconsin
Federal officials are back in Wisconsin reviewing flood damage, a step that could unlock additional disaster funding for cities and counties hit by historic flooding last month.
MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. - Federal officials are back in Wisconsin reviewing flood damage, a step that could unlock additional disaster funding for cities and counties hit by historic flooding last month.
What we know:
This round of assessments focuses on public property, including roads in Menomonee Falls, Brown Deer and Germantown.
Wisconsin still could wait another month for President Donald Trump to declare a disaster, if recent averages hold true. But the decision ultimately rests with Trump.
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"Trump, if you’re listening, I’m Shinita, I’m one of your big supporters," said Milwaukee flood victim Shinita McKinley. "The reality is: we the people, we need you. We need you to approve this, because we don’t even know how to come back from it. This is a real disaster."
Big picture view:
Gov. Tony Evers requested a federal disaster declaration on Aug. 27, 18 days after the storms started. This was faster than the average timeline for past disasters. The average for five Wisconsin major disasters was 36 days.
Between 2017 and 2020, it took an average of 59 days for Trump to declare major disasters in Wisconsin, excluding COVID-19. If that holds, approval could come by Oct. 7.
"I don’t know what to do. I’m overwhelmed, I’m stressed out. I’m sick as hell, and I’m just upset," McKinley said. "Please help us. Help us, cause I know you will, that’s why I voted for you. I know he will."
Evers’ request could only come after FEMA and Wisconsin assessed damage for individuals on Aug. 21 and 22. The assessments confirmed at least $33 million in damage to homes, with 51 destroyed and about 1,500 majorly damaged in Washington, Waukesha and Milwaukee counties.
Public property damage is estimated at $43 million, per Evers.
What they're saying:
"We lost a lot of memories that we can’t bring back," McKinley said. "But we can start making more memories and move on from this, if we can just get a little help."
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The public damage can also include nonprofits, like schools, hospitals and churches; Milwaukee Public Schools reported that flooding hit 24 schools, most with minor impact.
FEMA is looking at the total dollar amount of public infrastructure damage, and said last month, that the statewide damage would need to be about $11 million.
FEMA provided the following statement back in August:
"When assessing damage that may be eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, FEMA starts with the estimated cost of the federal and nonfederal assistance in context of population affected. This per capita figure is multiplied by the state population to determine the state damage threshold. The current state threshold for public assistance damage costs in Wisconsin is approximately $11.1 million. However, this is just one of six factors, which include localized impacts, insurance coverage in force, mitigation measures that contributed to the reduction of disaster damage, recent multiple disasters and other federal agency programs, that are considered when evaluating a major disaster declaration for Public Assistance."
For now, local governments, nonprofits and homeowners wait on the president’s decision.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.