A state of emergency was declared across Milwaukee County on Sunday after historic rainfall caused flash flooding, dozens of water rescues and an early closure of the region’s beloved state fair over the weekend.
With more rain falling in the region Sunday, officials are urging caution on the roads. The National Weather Service in Milwaukee issued several flash flood warnings for the area, which will remain in effect until Monday.
Milwaukee received 5.74 inches of rain in just hours Saturday – a month and a half’s worth of rain, setting a new daily record for the region. And the Milwaukee River hit a record high crest of 11.19 feet. The previous record was 10.48 in July 2010.
Flash flooding was reported in multiple areas, including basements, creeks and streets, where some vehicles were reported stranded, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s something that Milwaukee hasn’t seen in perhaps a decade or more,” Milwaukee Mayor Chevy Johnson said at a Sunday news conference, noting his own family was affected.
The Milwaukee Fire Department performed about 65 water rescues, working their way around “hundreds of vehicles around the city blocking intersections, making progress absolutely impossible,” Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said, urging residents to stay off the roads and out of floodwaters.
Because they were so inundated with calls for help, a dozen fire departments from neighboring counties assisted with the response, the fire chief said.
“We are still in the middle of it,” Lipski added, as rain came down on the officials gathered in Milwaukee for the news conference.
If floodwaters have reached above knee-level in basements, residents should wait until it recedes to enter, to avoid risk of electrocution, he said.
Those who must make contact with floodwaters should wear protective clothing like boots and gloves, and wash up afterward, as the water may be contaminated, said Mike Totoraitis, Milwaukee commissioner of health.
The father of two teenage daughters who were home alone near the Menomonee River Parkway described feeling “helpless” as floodwaters entered the family home.
Brian Baxter told CNN affiliate WDJT that he and his wife had gone away for the weekend and their daughters Brailey and Brecken had called in the middle of the night as floodwaters rose.
The girls shared video of water rapidly filling their home and their parents drove back only to be unable to reach them because floodwaters had covered the neighboring streets.
“When Brailey called me this morning and she said, ‘Dad, it’s getting bad down here and water’s getting high,’ we did a FaceTime real quick, so I could see it, and I was shocked at what I saw,” Baxter told WDJT. Rescue crews eventually retrieved the girls and their family dog.
“You know this is just something you don’t think you really have to go through as a parent,” Baxter said. “And you kind of feel a little helpless, but everybody’s helping everybody out.”
The severe weather is part of the same storm system that brought strong winds with gusts higher than 80 mph to Nebraska, where one person was killed and another was seriously injured by a large cottonwood tree that toppled onto their vehicle.
Hundreds of inmates at the Nebraska State Penitentiary had to be relocated after storms damaged two housing units, with no injuries reported, according to the Associated Press.
The Wisconsin State Fair was forced to shut down early on the penultimate day of its 11-day run, canceling a performance by famed rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Fair organizers urged caution as they directed visitors to exit the park as safely as possible.
The fair will not reopen for its final day, fair organizers announced Sunday.
USA Triathlon cancelled its Sprint National Championships and Paratriathlon National Championships Sunday due to flooding and damage on the course, the organization said.
The Milwaukee Brewers game Sunday afternoon is still on, though half the parking lots and many roads around American Family Field are inaccessible. Rain could be seen leaking through the stadium’s closed roof during the Saturday Brewers-Mets game.
Video from CNN affiliate WDJT shows visitors wading through waist-deep water as they made their way from the fairgrounds to the parking lot.
The flooding also hit Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, where runways, taxiways and an underpass tunnel were flooded, the weather service said.
Storms continued Sunday, bringing the potential for flash floods and street flooding, the National Weather Service office in Milwaukee said, urging caution on the roads.
The weather service also issued flood watches and warnings for parts of Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois.
Milwaukee is under a level 2 of 4 risk for excessive rainfall Sunday and is under a flood watch. The area is forecast to pick up an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain on top of what they have already received and some isolated locations could see up to 5 inches of additional rainfall through early Monday.
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