FEMA Denies Government Disaster Assistance For Milwaukee Area

County Executive David Crowley observes flood damage to Oak Leaf Trail in Wauwatosa. Photo taken Aug. 25, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied federal disaster assistance Thursday for area governmental entities affected by the 1,000-year August storm and subsequent flooding.

The federal government is denying funding assistance to help local governments repair public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, damaged during the storms. Federal assistance for individuals whose homes were damaged has already been approved, and is not affected by the denial.

“Denying federal assistance doesn’t just delay recovery, it sends a message to our communities that they are on their own, and that the Trump Administration doesn’t think over $26 million in damages to public infrastructure is worthy of their help. I couldn’t disagree more,” Gov. Tony Evers said Friday.

The majority of the damaged public infrastructure is in Milwaukee County, where an estimated $22 million in infrastructure repairs are needed, according to County Executive David Crowley, who called the decision on public assistance “extremely disappointing.”

The decision to deny assistance was ” based on the results of the joint federal, state, and local government Preliminary Damage Assessments,” according to an Oct. 23 letter from Keith A. Turi, acting associate administrator for the Office of Response and Recovery.

Evers’ administration plans to appeal the decision. “The federal government should not expect our communities go through this alone, and we are going to fight tooth and nail to ensure they get every possible resource to rebuild and recover,” Evers said.

In August, a huge rainstorm dropped as much as 15 inches of rain in some areas of Milwaukee over a 24-hour period. The amount of rainfall was rated a once-in-1,000-years event.

“I’ve commended the Trump administration for delivering this federal funding to our residents and businesses – because there is no room for politics in the aftermath of a natural disaster,” Crowley said.

Since assistance for individuals was approved in September, FEMA has distributed more than $123 million to residents, according to Crowley.

“But the cost to repair the damage to our public assets throughout Eastern Wisconsin – like roads, parks, and public buildings – still looms over our impacted counties and municipalities,” Crowley said. “Simply put, federal funding is needed to afford the repairs to the public infrastructure that was damaged from the floods so we can continue providing safe infrastructure for our community.”

Wisconsin Emergency Management will begin pulling together more information on public damage to prepare for an appeal, which must be filed in 30 days of the denial, according to Evers office. If approved, the funding would be available for public buildings, schools, public right of ways and public utility systems.

“By denying federal assistance, the Trump Administration is leaving Wisconsin communities to fend for themselves,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin. “No community can pick up these pieces alone, and Wisconsinites need support so they can rebuild and be on the road to recovery. I hope my Republican colleagues will join me in calling on the Trump Administration to step up to the plate and be here for Wisconsin communities left in the lurch.”

Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s said he was disappointed. “In a time when local government budgets are extremely tight, Milwaukee could certainly have deployed disaster funding in a way that mitigated the burden our taxpayers will have to shoulder,” said Johnson. ““Milwaukee households and businesses have received federal aid, but that was only part of the costly effects of this disaster. We had hoped the federal government would choose to extend this additional assistance.”

The size of the city’s liability is not immediately available. The Department of Public Works, the Milwaukee Health Department and other city departments had engaged in an extensive cleanup effort that involved hundreds of hours of overtime.