After Week of Severe Storms, Wisconsin Weighs Case For Federal Help

Debris from a severe storm covers a sidewalk Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Janesville, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Communities across Wisconsin are still completing damage assessments from storms that ripped through the state last week.

Thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and tornadoes hammered the state, causing widespread damage. Thursday morning, Greg Engle, administrator of Wisconsin Emergency Management, said over 1,000 individual storm damage assessments have been made so far.

“Most of the state was affected,” Engle said.

The assessments will be collected by Wisconsin Emergency Management and used to determine whether the damage meets the threshold for federal assistance.

The town of Ringle in Marathon County was hit by an EF3 tornado Friday night. Marathon County Emergency Management teams have conducted damage assessments for 149 properties so far, according to county spokesperson Sarah Severson.

“The devastation in Ringle is absolutely heartbreaking,” Severson said. “We have folks who have nearly their entire home that was just gone from the storm.”

Severson said a majority of the county’s damage assessments were at residences in Ringle. She said eight properties were destroyed, while there was “major” damage at 32 properties and “minor” damage at 73 properties.

A flooded residential street is seen with water covering the road and lawns, traffic cones blocking access, and overcast sky in Shiocton, Wis., on April 15, 2026. Joe Schulz/WPR

Officials with Outagamie County Emergency Management conducted storm damage assessments in the village of Shiocton on Wednesday. Flooding from the Wolf River forced an emergency evacuation in that community.

“This has been absolutely devastating,” Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said. “I think flooding is a very unique kind of disaster, because it comes through, it lingers, it’s not like storm damage from high winds or from a tornado, because the waters come through and then stay there.”

Residents who were evacuated were allowed to re-enter their homes on Thursday, according to a social media post from the village. Paula Van De Leygraaf, director of Outagamie County Emergency Management, said there are at least 14 homes in the village that have been classified as having “major” damage.

“I do see that number probably rising a little bit, because people haven’t been home yet,” Van De Leygraaf said.

Nelson is asking residents to take photos and notes of storm damage when they return home, and to report storm damage to 2-1-1.

“We’re asking people to approach this safe, to be cautious,” Nelson said. “A lot of people will be coming back home that doesn’t look like home, a lot different than what it was last week.”

The city of Burlington in Racine County also was hit by flooding. A Monday flood update from the city said, “Assessment Teams will be in the city to meet with residents and assess homes with visible damage around the flood damaged areas.”

Waupaca County Emergency Management teams are assessing damage in the city of New London. A social media post from the City of Janesville asked residents to report damage to 2-1-1.

Engle said Wisconsin Emergency Management is gathering all of the damage assessments from across the state. He said they will use the assessments and other information about the impact of the storms to “make a determination or make a recommendation on whether we think we meet the threshold for federal assistance.”

That recommendation is then made to Gov. Tony Evers, who could then make a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and to President Donald Trump for federal assistance. It’s still unclear how long that process could take.

“I want to emphasize that we’re still collecting that initial data,” Engle said. “We have not made a determination as to whether that request will be made yet.”

Engle said he estimated public and private property damages from the storms are “in the millions.”

“But it’s very early, and that number again, changes,” Engle said. “Sometimes the initial estimates can go up or down as new information comes in.”

Vehicles are stuck on a flooded roadway at the exit to American Family Field in Milwaukee, Sunday Aug. 10, 2025. Evan Casey/WPR

Parts of the state were also hit hard by widespread flooding last August. The Trump administration approved the state’s request for individual assistance, but denied a request from the state for federal help to pay for damage to public infrastructure.

In an April 17 letter to members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, Gov. Evers asked the delegates “to help convey the importance of FEMA assistance to the Trump Administration.”

“It would be unfortunate if Wisconsin’s anticipated requests for emergency assistance are once again declined, and most especially over no objection from members of Wisconsin’s own congressional delegation,” Evers wrote in the letter.

Storm damage assessments being collected from recent storms across Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.