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Feds declare Wis. counties disasters

MILWAUKEE (AP) — President Bush started declaring Wisconsin counties federal disasters on Saturday, paving the way for residents to apply for federal relief money.

So far, five counties were declared disasters, but the state says it will ask that more be declared as well.

The news comes as roads were still closed, communities still grappled with rising flood waters and forecasters called for more rain and severe storms over the weekend.

The state may have recorded its first fatality of the recent spate of storms on Saturday. The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department said authorities found the body of a 68-year-old man in three to four feet of flood water in the Town of Summit. Capt. Karen Ruff said the man, whose name hasn’t been released, likely left a tavern before midnight Friday and tried to drive on a flooded road, and then tried to walk after the water was too high for his car.

State authorities wouldn’t confirm the death as flood-related, and they did not know of any deaths related to the storms.

Motorists traveling throughout the state Saturday, especially between Milwaukee and Madison, faced delays and closures due to flooded roadways. But some roadways were starting to reopen because conditions were improving. The Wisconsin Emergency Management Office said Interstate 39/90 southbound from Highway 82 and Highway 16 opened Saturday morning.

Parts of Interstate 90/94 eastbound were also opened from Wisconsin 82 and US 12 at Lake Delton, where the 267-acre overflowed and drained, washing away three houses earlier in the week. But that roadway was still closed going westbound from US 12 to Highway 151. Interstate 94 westbound from Milwaukee was also closed at Wisconsin 83 in Delafield.

Authorities warned the changes would cause heavier traffic volumes along the Beltline in Madison. People were urged to avoid traveling in Jefferson County, where roads and bridges are flooded out in Fort Atkinson and Jefferson and surrounding communities. The county’s emergency operations center said in a news release the National Guard arrived Saturday to help manage the flooding, which was expected to continue for days. The Rock River was rising Saturday and was expected to crest on Tuesday. Between 800 and 1,000 homes countywide were affected by the floods.

Rain was expected to fall throughout much of southern Wisconsin Saturday and Sunday afternoon, said Steve Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan. Some of the storms could be severe but they won’t hang around as long as the storms that erupted throughout much of the region last week.

“These are moving through faster and they don’t have near as much moisture to work with as the last storms we had,” Davis said.

With more storms looming, evacuations continued in parts of Wisconsin as authorities worried about dams failing.

Residents in Pardeeville in Columbia County and other low-lying areas nearby were encouraged to evacuate Saturday morning. Water there was flowing on top of the dam and washing out state Highway 22, the main thoroughfare through town.

The dam itself was holding, said Kathy Johnson, the county’s deputy director of emergency management. But she said the water was eroding parts of the highway to the center line.

All gas, electric, sewer and water utilities were shut off to homes north of the dam. People were being told downstream and in other low lying areas to be on alert.

An evacuation order was voluntary and it wasn’t clear how many people were taking part.

“Certainly it’s a situation that is very serious and is requiring those folks to be evacuated from their homes,” said Tim Le Monds, spokeswoman for Wisconsin Emergency Management.

In Ripon, residents in some 50 homes near Silver Creek were urged to evacuate starting Friday night due to concerns about Mill Pond dam, said Mike Marx, human resources director for Fond du Lac County. He said as of Saturday morning, they were still waiting for the water to recede to rescind the voluntary evacuation order.

Gov. Doyle on Saturday did aerial tours of counties affected by the storms with David Paulison, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Five counties were declared federal disasters — Columbia, Crawford, Vernon, Sauk and Milwaukee. The move frees up grants, low-interest loans and other forms of assistance for people affected by the storms.

Lori Getter, spokeswoman for Wisconsin Emergency Management, said more counties will certainly be coming.

“We just wanted to get this declaration going,” Getter said. “This will provide some help for those that have been suffering this week.”

Doyle has said he’ll ask for two dozen more counties to be included once their damage assessments are done.

Wisconsin Emergency Management was urging caution on Saturday as reports came in of people falsely identifying themselves as Federal Emergency Management Agency officials asking to inspect homes. The reports occurred in Fond du Lac County. State officials said FEMA teams weren’t even in that area, and they carry photo ID, which residents are urged to ask to see. They recommended that residents contact their local county emergency management office to find out of FEMA teams are in the area.