Resources for SE Wisconsin residents
Photo by Erik Aldrich
Last night was another wet one in SE Wisconsin, with two months worth of normal rainfall occurring in less than three hours in some parts of Milwaukee. That’s about 8 inches, and it comes on the heels of widespread flash flooding last week. The National Weather Service says this may be a record, but for those cleaning out whatever remained in their basements this morning from the last go-round, there’s no thrill in that fact.
Here are some numbers to call if you’ve been affected.
To report flood damage to your home or business:
Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management
211 (recommended) or 414-278-4709
City of Milwaukee basement backup report/comment form
Waukesha County Emergency Management
262-548-7580
Racine County Emergency Management
262-636-3308
Kenosha County Emergency Management
(262) 605-7926
Walworth County Emergency Management
(262) 741-4400
Washington County Emergency Management
262-335-4399
Ozaukee County Emergency Management
262-238-8397
Jefferson County Emergency Management
(920) 674-7450
City of Milwaukee flood cleanup tips (general cleanup info)
Current road closures/conditions
Did we forget anything? Be a good citizen and leave another helpful tip or resource in the comment field. Thanks!
These severe storms require a regional approach to handling them. Flooding can be caused by development far upstream from the damage.
This is from a friend of mine:
Tip #1: Some stores really cheap bags of kitty litter (around $2.50 for 25 or 50 pounds, I forget…), non-clumping, that can be used to absorb water out of the cement, block small leaks around the floor of the basement, or sandbag around an area so it doesn’t spread. When things are dry, you can sweep it up and pour it right back in the bags to dispose of it.
Tip #2: If you decide to buy a shop vac to get rid of water, if it says 5 gallons, you’ll probably only end up with a gallon and a half or water before you’ll have to empty it.
Tip #3: If you have anything with shiny pages that is wet, put waxed paper between all the pages before the books have a chance to dry–otherwise they will all stick together. This especially applies to yearbooks.
Tip #4: Bleach, gloves, trash bags, as needed.
Tip #5: Keep record of anything that is wrecked–FEMA will probably offer aid to Milwaukee on this.
Tip #6: If you only have water in one part of the basement, move any appliances that might be down there as far away as possible, since you will be getting more rain today and tomorrow. If your appliances got wet, you will want to get them dry inside and running again as soon as possible so that things don’t rust. I know that I waited to long to run my dryer, causing the copper on the motor to rust and become useless so it wouldn’t work anymore. HOWEVER you don’t want to risk electrocution either, so call an appliance repair specialist for advice. You may find that you can use a blow dryer to help it out. http://www.fixitnow.com is an excellent resource–the samurai appliance repairman taught me how to change every part in my dryer. Most dryer motors sit right on the floor of the appliance, so they tend to have trouble before top-loading washers do.
Tip #7: If you have to bleach a lot of items, the cheapest thrift-store blankets and sheets make excellent drying areas with no worries about wrecking them.
Tip #8: Take photos of the damage before you start cleaning up, and you can also record things that are losses that way, too.