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Wisconsin to receive $29.8M in federal aid for flood victims
Wisconsin will receive nearly $30 million in federal disaster relief to aid victims of last monthโs flooding.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday in a social media post that he had approved the stateโs request to help Milwaukee and other parts of the state affected by floods.ย The total approved is $29.8 million.
The approval came one month after historic rainfall causedย widespread flooding in southeastern Wisconsinย and three weeks after officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agencyย were on the ground in Milwaukee to survey damage.
The storm leftย flooded streets and basements, downed trees and power outagesย in its wake. Some residents were leftย without basic services,ย and the floodingย may have claimed the livesย of some people who were homeless.ย
State and federal officials found the floods causedย more than $33 million in damages to private propertyย in Milwaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties. The request by Gov. Tony Evers for a presidential disaster declaration also included a request to FEMAโs Public Assistance Program for Door, Grant, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.ย
In a statement, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson called the approval โa significant stride forward in this areaโs recovery efforts.โ
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, spoke on the House floor Thursday to advocate for federal help for the city. In a statement, she said the funds โwill help my constituents pick up the pieces, and I will keep fighting for the resources they need until they are made whole.โ
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, received the news of the declaration from Trump.
โThank you to President Trump for continuing to deliver BIG TIME for Wisconsinites,โ Johnsonย wrote on social media.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, in a statement said she would โcontinue to closely monitor to make sure Wisconsin gets everything we need to be on the road to recovery and the whole-of-government recovery effort does right by all Wisconsinites.โ
FEMA representatives are scheduled to return to Wisconsin this month to assess damage to public infrastructure. In addition to the damages to private property, initial reports collected by the state found more than $43 million in damage to public property across six counties.
This story wasย originally published by WPR.
Wisconsin to receive $29.8M in federal aid for flood victims is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
