Trouble floods in: High winds, 8 inches of rain wreak havoc
Racine, Kenosha counties brace for more while battling road closures, power outages
Residents of parts of Racine and Kenosha counties were recovering from extensive flooding Wednesday while bracing for more rain overnight into Thursday.
Torrential rains flooded areas of southeastern Wisconsin with nearly 8 inches of rain overnight Wednesday, causing flooding, closing roads and knocking out power to thousands.
A second round of storms developed over south-central Wisconsin on Wednesday evening, threatening areas to the southeast, including Milwaukee, with more heavy rain, large hail, damaging winds and possible tornadoes.
A state of emergency was declared in Racine County, where the Fox River at Burlington surpassed its record crest of 13.81 feet Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Sullivan.
At 2:45 p.m., the river had reached a stage of 14.6 feet, more than 31⁄2 feet above the 11foot flood stage, according to the weather service.
The weather service predicted the river would crest at 15 to 16 feet Thursday.
“It’s coming up fast. We’re completely under in the back, no-parking area — and now we have a lake,” Carol Rickard
said of the area around her Burlington home.
By 6 p.m., We Energies had restored power to almost 20,000 customers in the area whose service was interrupted, only to have about an additional 14,000 lose power after rising waters flooded a substation, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said.
“We made such great
progress during the day only to have this happen,” Manthey said.
Mayor Jean Hefty ordered a 10 p.m. curfew for all residents because of the flooding in Burlington, where 6.82 inches of rain had been recorded at the airport by 6 p.m.
“Now our washer and dryer are floating around in our basement,” said resident Rich Cassidy, who lives next to the Fox River.
“We lost everything. And it’s not stopping; it keeps going up.”
A flood watch was issued for areas of southeastern Wisconsin, including parts of Racine County and all of Kenosha County.
The weather service said parts of Walworth County were hit with nearly 7 inches of rain, while western Kenosha County recorded almost 8 inches.
Roads and highways were closed throughout Walworth, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha counties, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Eight people and two dogs were evacuated from the Pleasant Prairie Mobile Home Park at 11703 60th St. because of floodwaters from the Kilbourn Road Ditch adjacent to the park, according to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office.
More than 6 inches of rain were reported in some areas of Waukesha County, where water gushed from displaced manhole covers in the City of Waukesha, the weather service said.
According to Waukesha Now, Waukesha City Hall and the Waukesha Library were damaged because of flooding, and the library was closed.