Heavy rains reminded folks of massive floods a year ago

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The overnight rains in much of Wisconsin reminded folks of what happened a year ago – when downpours and floods caused almost a $0.5 billion in damage.

Thirty counties were declared federal disaster areas.

The draining of Lake Delton and its related washouts happened a year ago Tuesday, and that’s pretty much what the world remembers about our storms.

But parts of Metro Milwaukee had 11 inches of rain in just two days.

Spring Green had flooding for months. And Gays Mills in southwest Wisconsin made plans to move to higher ground, after getting flooded out for the second time in just 10 months.

Government agencies say they’ll be a lot more prepared the next time this happens.

They say they’ve improved their disaster response plans and communication systems, and updated their networks for recruiting volunteers.

Milwaukee County emergency management director Carl Stenbol has encouraged folks to buy flood insurance, and put back-up sump pumps in their basements.

About 19,000 homes were damaged last year in the state’s largest county, and Stenbol says about 40 percent were due to failing sump pumps.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service said up to 2 inches of rain fell Sunday night and early today in parts of Wisconsin.

Rockville in Grant County had 1.6 inches in the 24 hours ending at 5 a.m. Most of the state expects more rain throughout the day.

Tags: wisconsin, flooding, rain