Throughout the month of October, residents impacted by historic flooding in Milwaukee can get in-person assistance from state, county and federal personnel.
Federal disaster assistance is available to individuals in Milwaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties who were affected by historic rainfall and flooding last month.
The assistance could include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and families recover from the effects of the storms that occurred Aug. 9-12.
A spokesperson for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said that how and when the money will be distributed to individuals will be determined by the Trump administration.
People who sustained losses in the designated areas should first file claims with their insurance providers and then apply for assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA App.
The request by Gov. Tony Evers for a presidential disaster declaration also included a request to FEMA’s Public Assistance Program for Door, Grant and Ozaukee counties.
On Friday, FEMA officials announced that additional designations may be made at a later date depending on what damage assessments show.
The Evers administration estimates 1,500 residential structures were destroyed and flooding caused more than $43 million in public sector damage throughout six Wisconsin counties.
“Over the past month, my administration and I have been working hard to ensure the folks and families whose homes, businesses, schools, and community centers were impacted have the support they need to recover,” Evers said in a statement released Thursday evening.
A recent Associated Press data analysis found that disaster survivors are having to wait longer to get aid from the federal government than they did in the past.
Wisconsin will receive nearly $30 million in federal disaster relief to aid victims of last month’s flooding.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday in a social media post that he had approved the state’s request to help Milwaukee and other parts of the state affected by floods. The total approved is $29.8 million.
State and federal officials found the floods caused more than $33 million in damages to private property in Milwaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties. The request by Gov. Tony Evers for a presidential disaster declaration also included a request to FEMA’s Public Assistance Program for Door, Grant, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.
In a statement, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson called the approval “a significant stride forward in this area’s recovery efforts.”
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 “will help my constituents pick up the pieces, and I will keep fighting for the resources they need until they are made whole.”
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, received the news of the declaration from Trump.
“Thank you to President Trump for continuing to deliver BIG TIME for Wisconsinites,” Johnson wrote on social media.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, in a statement said she would “continue 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.”
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.