Milwaukee faced massive flooding the weekend of Friday, Aug. 9, as a rare 1,000 year storm unleashed a record-breaking deluge of heavy rain with localized totals at a staggering 10 to 14.5 inches in record time. The downpour overwhelmed drainage systems, forced evacuations, shut down roads and public events and prompted state and county emergency declarations.
Dan Devine, Mayor of West Allis, signed off on a local state of emergency. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the city “received essentially a summer’s worth of rain in a single storm,” a volume that severely taxed Milwaukee’s infrastructure, some of which was designed for just a 10-year event.
No time to prepare
The flooding happened quickly like a dam breaking from the sky. While rain was predicted in our area, no one foresaw the sheer magnitude that would blindside thousands of residents. The annual Wisconsin State Fair shut down early at 9:00 p.m. on Aug. 9. The last day of the fair, a Sunday, was cancelled. That evening, my friend Donald and I visited a local eatery for dinner with the best smash burgers around and had a nice meal followed by amazingly great-tasting local ice cream. The hammering fists of rain came and increased within minutes. The rain happily met us as we tried running to the car, trying not to get too wet.
Only living a few blocks away, we made it home safely. The torrential downpour was relentless. I was still awake at 2:30 a.m. as I remained alert to the property, peering through the darkness, ears tuned to every creak and rush of heavy rain outside. I was hoping I would not see anything too alarming and adverse, aside from the rain. Yet in the shadows, unbeknownst to me, neighbors were about to meet a brutal, uninvited force in their soon-to-be uprooted lives: gushing floodwaters that would rip through foundations, walls and scattering cars that floated in the cold, merciless current.
Somber observance of the devastation
On the morning of Sunday, Aug. 10, Donald and I took a brief car ride to survey the area and that was the start of a somber Sunday as we began to piece together the scope of this devastating flood. Three times that afternoon and evening, we walked through the neighborhood. Our hearts were heavy; our words were few. This is my neighborhood; our neighborhood. Residents of Milwaukee suburb, West Allis, where McCarty Park is located, incurred widespread damage: basements and first and some second floors submerged in floodwater, homes with foundations ripped away as if scooped from beneath and deeply personal losses. Losses such as photo albums are gone forever dissolving into washed away memories.
As we walked around our neighborhood, we saw many homeowners pumping out their homes, the steady sound of water gushing through hoses and released into the streets. We tried not to react as we walked through, over or around the streams gushing from the thick hoses, their force creating small rivers across the sidewalks and streets. The number of people outside matched what you would see lining the streets and lawns at a block party, but instead of music and laughter, there was only the tense urgency of a shared mission: get the water out of their homes before it claimed anything more.
We witnessed area rugs carried out to the curb still drenched and dripping of flood water. Two women hurriedly walked across the street to use their neighbor’s bathroom since they didn’t have a working toilet. “We lost everything,” one resident said quietly while pumping water out of his house and his eyes fixed on the mess at his feet. Another homeowner echoed the despair, “Everything. Everything is ruined. Our completely finished off basement is completely ruined.”
A woman cried as I spoke with her and tried to console her as her family just lost so many family cherished memories. Her husband, desperate to protect her from more heartache, banned her from going into the basement until it is cleared, fearing the flooded site would break her again. The floor in another home caved in, creating a gaping wound in the structure. “Our washing machine is floating in the basement right now,” a neighbor reported. We heard others say, “There’s a hole in my house now … my foundation is gone..” At least five homes lost their foundations, leaving their basements exposed to the outdoors, a raw, uninhibited reminder of the flood’s relentless force. We carefully and cautiously observed the back of one home where the basement was now exposed to the outside air. Our hearts were devastated.
Dozens of cars are completely ruined and totaled, their paint streaked with mud and debris. Damaged items stacked five feet and higher on the curbs; full curbs on entire blocks lined with soaked furniture, broken appliances and ruined keepsakes. The heavy, damp scent of waterlogged homes and belongings hung thick in the air, a sobering reminder that our community and many others face the long, difficult road of rebuilding ahead.
Community resilience as infrastructure
Strangers, families, neighbors coming together to help. Flood victims helping other victims in their same predicament. We were speechless at times, standing quietly as we listened to the flood victims while our hearts ached for their pain and loss.
“I want to help somehow,” Donald stated. I replied, “We have to do something.” We came home, overwhelmed and trying to process what we had seen and heard. I made zucchini bread using fresh zucchinis from our neighbor’s garden, the warm aroma filling the kitchen with a comforting scent. A stark difference to the scent of the water-laden, destroyed items lining the curbs.
Then, we walked the neighborhood again listening to others, carrying the bread as a small offering, stopping to listen as a reprieve through zucchini. Our small gesture of kindness toward the forlorn residents was met with elation, heartfelt gratitude, moments of respite and tears of appreciation. Our neighbor Becki and I returned to our distressed neighbors in the evening with more freshly baked zucchini bread. We stood with our distressed neighbors for over an hour, listening as they poured out their hearts, sharing stories of loss, resilience and hope.
On Monday, Aug. 11, Donald and I put our plan into action. He ordered catering boxes from Cousin’s Subs and filled a cooler with bottled water. I baked blueberry muffins with their aroma mingling with the savory scent of freshly baked cheddar biscuits. After work, we felt a deep joy as we set out to serve others; service work and volunteerism, one of our shared values to serve others. We did not question each other; we knew what we needed and wanted to do. Driving through our distressed community, we offered cold water, hearty subs, muffins and cheddar biscuits.
We talked with people and observed how they shifted from the urgent rush of removing water from their homes on Sunday to facing the overwhelming, painstaking cleanup currently underway. The magnitude of their efforts weighed heavily on them and many were overcome with emotions again, this time as the full reality of their personal losses began to sink in. As we offered these comfort food items, one man sighed with relief and gratitude, explaining he had forgotten to eat as he has been busy clearing out his house. A woman suddenly burst into tears, overwhelmed by pure thankfulness for the sustenance we brought to her and her family. I could not do anything at that moment but hug her.
Donald and I listened to many people who simply needed someone to hear them. Some neighbors shared stories of Chick-fil-A driving thru the neighborhood earlier in the day, handing out complimentary meals to flood victims; a small beacon of kindness amid the chaos. He and I took several walks through the neighborhood this week, helped wherever we could and offered more zucchini bread, thanks to Becki’s plentiful garden overflowing with fresh zucchinis to share.
Flooding aftermath
As the city and state now undertake cleanup and assess long-term risks, one truth stands out: human connection matters as much as concrete and pipes.
Props to the city, they are constantly coming through with garbage trucks, dump trucks, etc. A community response and the city are helping, families coming in to help, neighbors helping neighbors who lost everything. They are tired yet still shining with resilience and focused on the task.
What has hindered cleanup this week was the number cars lining the streets, hindering the initial cleanup process to access the more than five feet high damaged items on the streets. Excavators are cleaning up, volunteers crews are diving in. Seven straight days of non-stop clean up, mixed emotions and adrenaline-induced actions to cleanup before the next round of rain this evening.
Insurance woes
Insurance is not covering flood damage to the extent listed in their policies and now home owners are on their own. One person stated, “I don’t know where I’m going to live … I lost momentos and birth certificates. This is tragic.”
Many homeowners cannot get flood insurance since they are not in a flood zone. Insurance will not cover flood damage but might cover sewage problems, though once they mention flooding to their insurance, all bets are off and the residents are left with mounting bills to rebuild. “Who is insurance for? It’s not for us. These insurance companies are in business to protect themselves,” said another flood victim.
They are exhausted and tired working sixteen hours a day to clean up. Five homes lost their foundations. Greedy moneymakers are coming through the neighborhood offering money for houses as is, but lowballing the distressed residents. How horrible to swoop in like a vulture trying to take advantage of homeowners who are not thinking clearly at the moment. Some people have floated the idea of getting rid of their homes however they can and moving away.
Questions and theories on the rise
The sewer system runs from the park underneath the homes all the way to the State Fair Park area a little more than a mile away. While our home was not hit with flooding and damage, homes abutted to the backyard and the neighboring five to six blocks were massively damaged. Parked cars were floating; logs were seen flowing down the street as if they were flowing in a river.
Honey Creek flows into a ravine under a particular West Allis neighborhood with a grating system at McCarty Park. The water flows underground to State Fair park and then travels to another city, ultimately into the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. As questions are rampant and speculation increases, the blame game has begun. As the tunnel flowing under the city toward the State Fail might have been cut off to save the State Fair grounds, where does the water go? Into the neighborhoods destroying people’s homes.
A tree might have fallen into that ravine, blocking a grate and could be part of the problem. Somehow, the water was prevented from flowing to its final destination and flooding ensued to mass devastation. That tunnel where the water flows is in line with two main streets, though several other streets were also in line where the water flows through.
Resident think city personnel turned off or diverted the water, resulting in the overflowing sewer system and then that is when the gates of flowing wrath unleashed on homes along its path.
“I’ve lost thousands of dollars in work tools and supplies,” a homeowner stated. “I have over $100,000 in damage and insurance is only paying $5,000. What good will that do?” explained another homeowner. Others have upwards of $200,000 in damage to contend with. Not receiving anything or only a paltry amount is a commonality among residents. Another person shared that insurance will only give them $5,000 yet will spend $120,000 on emergency housing while the $120K instead could be given to homeowners. Several individuals are wondering where FEMA stands with assistance in the area. “FEMA is in place to deny, not help,” a woman stated.
Hope amid a crisis
While questions about insurance, theories relating to culpability and multi-level emotions are high, progress is slowly making strides, though it may be an uphill battle. Businesses and contractors are being lined up by homeowners to rebuild their home, an effort that will take time as dumpsters filled to the rim and water-soaked damaged items still line the streets. One step at a time.
A woman I spoke with, “My car was not flooded and my house has a foundation, so I’m good.”
Floodwaters to fellowship
What unfolded last weekend in Milwaukee was more than a natural devastation. It broke hearts. The storm revealed the limits of our environment. Amid this upheaval, community emerged as both compass and cure, helping others who need to take a breath and heal in the face of unprecedented storms. But they are strong and have a willingness to show up for each other. Every neighbor, every home and every shared hope.
There is something truly powerful about neighbors coming together to support neighbors: cleaning out basements and baking goods to uplift people through this crisis. We all must unite in our collective efforts to serve those in need. This is the least we can do when the faces of so many residents show distress, yet no trace of a “woe is me” attitude; only determination and focus on surviving.
