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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October/November
2007
Volume 13 - Number
1/2 |
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Summary of flooding in Wisconsin in 2007 by Ying Li Wisconsin is located in the north-central US and
bordered by Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and the Mississippi and Saint Croix
Rivers. Various glaciations have a significant influence in its topography
and soils, and they also created rolling terrain with nearly 9,000 lakes
and several areas of marshes and swamps. Most of the lakes and streams in
Wisconsin are ice-covered from late November to late March. In April, flooding
is usually frequent and serious due to the melting snow and spring rain which
always lead to ice jams that aggravate the flood. In summer season from July
to August, floods along the smaller streams and creeks are usually caused
by excessive thunderstorms associated with slow-moving frontal systems.
On July-18 2007, a thunderstorm dropped 7 inches of rain into the Bagley village, Grant County in Wisconsin, in very short period of time. Water flooded throughout the village and blocked the major railroad tracks along the Mississippi River because of inadequate drainage in the area to handle the water. Damages to 400 homes and railroad tracks were estimated to top $1 million. One month later, two days of thunderstorms on August 18 and August 19 dumped over 12 inches of rain in southwestern Wisconsin, turning the countryside into swamps and lake, washing out roads and bridges, and straining dams. The flood waters slowly receded on August 20, but a second round of thunderstorms lasted for nearly another week until August 25, which caused the worst flooding in some areas of southwestern Wisconsin in nearly 30 years and approximately $48 million loss were reported in 12 Wisconsin counties. In Crawford County, more than 200 houses were flooded with 1240 residents. In Vernon County, a mudslide pushed a house onto state highway 35. Crawford, La Crosse, Richland, Sauk, Vernon and 9 other counties were declared Federal disaster areas which were most affected by the flooding. FEMA provided federal disaster aid to these 14 areas. No significant injuries were reported except for that 4 people were killed by lightning. A male was struck and killed as he sought shelter from the rain under a pine on a golf course in Madison on August 20; a male passenger, a female passenger and her daughter got electrocuted when the lightning struck a power line and caused it to fall onto a flooded street in which they were standing. Wisconsin is periodically exposed to floods because of its close location to major lakes and rivers. There are some of the most significant floods in Wisconsin’s history, such as the flooding in March and April 1973, July 1978, August 1986, in which severe thunderstorms usually produced 5-8 inches of rain in 24 hours. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_flooding_of_2007#Wisconsin http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/206220 http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/index.php?ntid=206847 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293769,00.html |