Milwaukee neighborhood hit with 14 inches of rain in historic flood
By Nick Bohr
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — A historic rainfall event has devastated a Milwaukee neighborhood. The flooding near 58th Street and Thurston Avenue, about two blocks from Lincoln Creek, caused extensive damage to homes,
Trammell Fontaine, whose home was severely damaged, described the rapid onset of flooding.
“My car was completely submerged. Within 30 minutes, the whole house was completely flooded,” Fontaine said. “It was coming through the trim, through the vents, everything just wrong right now at this moment.”
The floodwaters reached knee-high levels on first floors of homes. Residents watched helplessly as cars and garbage cans floated down streets.
“All the doors are warped now. We can’t close anything, the carpet, everything is just ruined. My dog was panicking, he didn’t know how to act. He was in the corner. I had to pick him because the water got so high. I had to put him on something that was floating. The whole house was damn near under,” Fontaine said.
The flooding occurred despite a recently completed project aimed at reducing flood risk along Lincoln Creek. City officials said the sheer volume of rainfall — 14 inches in just hours — overwhelmed the area’s drainage capacity.
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