All members of the Milwaukee Common Council sent a letter (attached) today to President Trump imploring him to “issue a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Milwaukee County and southeast Wisconsin, unlocking vital resources for recovery.”
Copied on the letter are FEMA Director David Richardson, Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, and Congresswoman Gwen Moore.
Council members are asking residents who have been impacted by the flooding damage to take a moment and fill out the 2-1-1 Wisconsin Damage Report form immediately –https://211wisconsin.communityos.org/damage-report.
In the letter, Council members lay out what the flooding has brought to many areas of Milwaukee: “This storm has touched residents in every aldermanic district, as many Milwaukeeans were impacted or know someone who has been. Imagine a northwest Milwaukee family losing every possession in hours, their basement a toxic swamp, or a south side resident watching contaminated water ruin irreplaceable heirlooms and essential appliances. These are our neighbors: parents scrambling for temporary shelter, elders isolated without power, small business owners staring at ruined inventories. Compounding the agony, insurance denials are rampant—standard policies exclude floods, and even sewer backup riders fail, leaving most without recourse. Only 5% of homeowners nationwide carry flood insurance, and here, families believed protected now face rejection, relying on depleted savings or overburdened aid.”
“While local and state agencies have mobilized initial help, they fall short. A federal declaration is essential for individual aid, infrastructure fixes, and long-term resilience against climate’s growing threat to our watershed region,” the letter also states.
