In the 12 days since Milwaukee area officials called upon the federal government to approve disaster funding to help manage historic flooding damage, their open letter to President Donald Trump has been met with silence.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson sent the letter to Trump on Aug. 29, asking he quickly approve Governor Tony Evers’ request for a presidential disaster declaration on Aug. 27, which would release federal disaster relief funding.
“Residents in Milwaukee County and throughout Southeastern Wisconsin have already lost so much in the wake of these recent, unprecedented floods,” Crowley said in a statement, calling for approval. “Without federal assistance, the road to recovery only becomes more difficult.”
On Sept. 9, Director of Milwaukee County’s Office of Emergency Management Cassandra Libal said FEMA staff were currently in county offices after beginning the public assistance verification process the previous day. However, they likely won’t make a decision soon, she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In a statement to the Journal Sentinel, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “The President responds to each request for Federal assistance under the Stafford Act with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”
Previous disaster declarations in Wisconsin since 2000 have taken an average of 40 days. It’s been 31 days since the Aug. 9 and 10 flooding ended.
However, if FEMA disaster relief is approved, homeowners would be able to be reimbursed for the damage the county has been tracking, and the county would be able to seek reimbursement for public damage, Milwaukee County Strategy Director Isaac Rowlett said. The county would also host disaster recovery centers where people can file claims with and speak with FEMA representatives.
As of Aug. 29, the latest cost estimates on damage to public assets just in Milwaukee County tallied $52 million, according to OEM, which has coordinated much of the local response.
This and other damage totals rise to one of the highest in the country this year, on par with damage costs after hurricanes, OEM’s Deputy Director Chris Mcgowan said.
Two men living at a homeless encampment were found drowned, and at least three others from the same encampment along the Kinnickinnic River remain missing.
The assessments found that the once-in-1,000 year flooding between Aug. 9 and 10. destroyed or majorly damaged over 1,800 homes, Libal said at a Sept. 9 report from Milwaukee County’s Office of Emergency Management presented to the county’s Committee on Judiciary, Law Enforcement and General Services. According to the letter, Washington County saw major damage or destruction in 1,500 homes.
The flooding left tens of thousands without power, left behind widespread sewage contamination and caused major disruptions to roads, schools, businesses and utilities, Libal said. Much of this damage was concentrated in northwest Milwaukee and in multiple municipalities around the city of Milwaukee, including Bayside, Brown Deer, Glendale, West Milwaukee and Wauwatosa.
Immediately as the storm surged, local emergency response groups came together to rescue people from cars, waterways and streets, to restore utility resources and to establish shelters for over 50 people who were entirely displaced by the flooding, Libal said. There are just shy of 50 people still in those emergency shelters, she said, though the county is working to help situate them into longer-term housing.
Local governments and emergency response personnel have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and livelihoods of residents, Libal said.
During the recovery, many municipalities redirected public works staff to collect water-damaged items or set up drop off sites, such as in Glendale and Brown Deer. The 19 city mayors and village board presidents serving on the county’s Intergovernmental Cooperation Council sent a letter on Sept. 8 to FEMA penned by Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy, seeking reimbursement for those garbage collection costs.
“Our community has shown so much resilience these past few weeks,” Crowley said in his statement. “But the scale of this disaster goes far beyond what local and state resources can handle alone. “
County staff have also established a flood resources page where residents can seek help from volunteer home cleaning organizations and from the American Red Cross, which is offering financial assistance.
According to a Sept. 9 Associated Press analysis of decades of data, survivors of natural disasters in the U.S. are having to wait longer for federal aid. In the 1990s and early 2000s, it took less than two weeks for governor requests for presidential disaster declarations to be approved. During the past decade, that rose to about three weeks under presidents from both major parties.
During Trump’s current term, it has taken over a month on average.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee, nearby counties waiting for Trump disaster designation