The confluence of raging storms across the Midwest this weekend has wreaked havoc in multiple states, with the city of Milwaukee experiencing such severe flooding that officials were forced to cancel the last day of the popular Wisconsin State Fair and declare a state of emergency, according to reports from NBC Chicago and NBC News. Hundreds of thousands of residents in the area are facing the aftermath of the unexpected deluge, whereby some regions received up to 14 inches of rainfall, causing disruptions to essential services and leisure activities alike.
Dramatic instances of the storms' impacts include the cancellation of the Wisconsin State Fair's closing day, a decision made when fairgrounds in West Allis became submerged, as well as the USA Triathlon's Sprint and Paratriathlon National Championships in Milwaukee – the latter due to flooding and limited emergency response capabilities, the heavy deluge also prompted ongoing rescue operations by firefighters who attended to a significant number of calls for water rescues, with Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski urging the public to avoid driving into floodwaters, telling NBC News, “This is how we have hundreds of vehicles around the city blocking intersections, making progress absolutely impossible.”
The extent of the disaster was further compounded by power outages affecting thousands, impassable roadways, and physical devastation within residences, as described by a Wauwatosa homeowner, Loren Kaiser, in an interview with NBC News, where he recounted his home being ravaged by the floods. The Milwaukee County Executive, David Crowley, witnessing the widespread distress, declared a state of emergency, and Mayor Cavalier Johnson described the situation as a rare and severe occurrence that the city "hasn’t seen in perhaps a decade or more."
These incidents indicate that the extent of the destruction has touched more than just infrastructure but also the personal lives and safety of citizens, with one reported fatality in Nebraska due to storm-related incidents and extensive property damage across residential areas, Jean Krajewski, a resident of another Milwaukee suburb, recounted to NBC News the distress of her home’s inundation and the frustration of being unable to obtain flood insurance due to past flooding incidents, declaring, “So, we’re just going to have to slowly rebuild it.”
