danielfela / Depositphotos.com
WHBL Exclusive
Anyone who lived in Sheboygan at the time likely has the “Flood of ‘98” burned into their memories. In its wake, federal funding was given to help prevent the worst outcomes from happening in the future, and that same program is now being denied for counties affected by 2025 flooding in Door, Grant, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties. The similarities beg for comparison, but the differences are significant.
The Flood of ‘98
On the morning of August 6, 1998, heavy rain began falling on Sheboygan in the early morning hours, and didn’t stop until nearly 11 inches had inundated the area, mostly on the south side, and mostly within just a few hours. In the City of Sheboygan, storm sewer caps were blown off by the pressure, making streets impassable. Flooding of county roads outside the city cut off many from access. The WHBL studios and transmitter location were entirely flooded from the basement on up with water reaching several inches deep in the ground floor, threatening both normal operations and electric shock to those of us there. Water rescues were conducted on seemingly high grounds such as Union Avenue west of South Business Drive, and on the low-lying portion of Camelot Boulevard bordering a tributary to the Black River, sixteen homes were flooded out of existence.
In the wake of the event, a presidential major disaster declaration was issued, which included Sheboygan County, making $1,873,000 in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding available to prevent future losses by removing the sixteen homes that were destroyed.
The Flood of ‘25
With timing eerily similar to 1998, on August 9 and 10, sustained thunderstorms and torrential downpours moved into southeastern Wisconsin, pouring widespread totals of between five and ten inches across Waukesha, Washington, Milwaukee and Ozaukee Counties. Totals in many locations neared one foot of rain. The Wisconsin State Fair closed early, and fans leaving the Milwaukee Brewers game found their cars stranded on nearby roads, and some had to escape through their sunroofs. Some roadways in Muskego and Menomonee Falls were washed out in the receding flood waters. Numerous homes in the area were rendered unfit for occupation due to compromised foundations. In this case, a full federal disaster declaration was denied, and requests for $26.5 million in funding public infrastructure repairs were denied by FEMA, a decision which is being appealed by Governor Evers.
What’s Different?
Several factors may weigh on the current decision to deny funding from the HMGP, which requires a Presidential disaster declaration. First, the federal disaster declaration for Sheboygan County was not repeated for those affected in the current events. But even as a full Presidential disaster declaration hasn’t been issued this time around, a portion of such a declaration was approved in September.
Second, some claim that the difference lies in the nature of the administrations. Democrat President Bill Clinton was in office in ‘98, while Republican Donald Trump is the current office-holder. If it is significant that Democrat Governor Tony Evers is in charge now under a Republican president, then it should be pointed out that in 1998 Republican Tommy Thompson was Wisconsin Governor under a Democrat president.
Thirdly, In 1998 HMGP funding was granted in order to fundamentally change the Camelot Boulevard corridor where flooding was likely to occur in the future, and a park was emplaced as part of floodplain management. In 2025, infrastructure repairs – and not future risk mitigation – dominate current requests for funding.
All in all, it appears that the differences come down to the details.
Comments