From the Wisconsin State Journal:
Floodwaters continued to surge throughout Southern and Southwestern Wisconsin Tuesday, threatening and destroying dams in Vernon, Sauk, Columbia and Jefferson Counties and keeping hundreds of evacuated residents away from their homes.
As the scope of damage became apparent, Gov. Jim Doyle asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct a damage assessment in anticipation of seeking a federal disaster declaration.
"Even as we struggle with the shock of the widespread damage across the state, we need to start getting an accurate assessment of the damage and resources needs to help speed the recovery,'' Doyle said.
Doyle said FEMA officials were expected to begin visiting affected areas in the state Thursday. They will start with Sauk County and Lake Delton, where floodwaters gashed a new channel into the Wisconsin River and drained the lake, which is crucial to the area's tourism economy.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Rain finally stopped falling Monday, but the water left behind from the weekend's multiple torrents continues to make folks in southern Wisconsin miserable.
Most rivers and streams were rapidly rising or already overflowing their banks, forcing evacuations; roads and bridges remained closed in many counties; schools canceled classes; and state officials were hurriedly inspecting dams after Lake Delton near Wisconsin Dells all but disappeared when a breach opened up near a dam and drained most of the lake into the nearby Wisconsin River.
Gov. Jim Doyle, who toured flooded areas in Oak Creek and Lake Delton, declared a state of emergency for 30 counties.
The National Weather Service reported that essentially all major rivers in the state were at or near flood stage. Among them: the Rock, Fox, Wisconsin and Milwaukee rivers.
No deaths or serious injuries were reported in the state or metro Milwaukee area, though the high waters prompted some thrill-seekers to paddle canoes or venture too close to snap photos. Milwaukee Public Schools officials urged principals to make announcements warning students to stay away from swollen rivers and flooded streets. In Saukville, a former state senator drove around barricades and got his sport utility vehicle submerged before being rescued.
The torrential downpours have stopped but the threat from floodwaters hasn't subsided.
The media have done an excellent job of warning the public on how to safely clean up from the flooding.
They also have stressed the importance of keeping children away from rivers and flooded areas.
And don't drive through standing water or go around barricades.
Former state senator Donald Stitt has been one of too many people ignoring those warnings.
Firefighters pulled a man from Milwaukee River floodwaters in Saukville shortly after 11 a.m. [Monday] after the man's vehicle became submerged, said Chief William Meloy of the Saukville Police Department.
According to Meloy, the man, identified as Donald Stitt, 64, was pulled from the water by firefighters who waded into about 4 feet of water where he was around 11:15 a.m. today near Highway W north of Highway 33.
What was Stitt thinking by DRIVING AROUND BARRICADES?
He wasn't thinking.
Children are playing in floodwater. Adults, like Stitt, are intentionally driving into it, then needing to be rescued.
That's really inexcusable.
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The Journal Sentinel gives a good summary of conditions around the state.
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