Recent storms sent flooding back into parts of Milwaukee on Thursday night, leaving homes and a business taking on water again as residents in Bay View and on the south side scrambled to clear out basements before more rain moved in.
Along South Fulton Street, neighbors were throwing out water-damaged items from their basements Thursday night, while about a mile away at Howell and Oklahoma, a business flooded again. Michael Arenas said the problem has become almost routine. “We're kind of used to it over so many years,” he said. He also said water often leaves the building’s basement flooded and that storms pushed window seals out and carried leaves and debris into the window wells.
The damage was not as severe as last year, residents said, but it was bad enough that people were picking up dehumidifiers and fans to dry out before more rain arrived. Allison Gipp said she had to throw out “Boxes, a TV, luggage, you know, wrapping paper and toilet paper” after sewage backed up through her floor drain and reached about three inches this time. Last August, she said, her basement had about three feet of water.
The flooding came months after historic August rains, and residents said the area is still recovering from earlier damage even as they try to keep up with each new storm. Gipp said she is holding off on fully cleaning her basement in case more flooding happens, a decision that captures how uncertain the cleanup has become on Milwaukee’s south side. “Hopefully it doesn't happen again,” she said. “Hopefully, if it does, it's not worse.”
The immediate concern now is whether the next round of rain will deepen the damage before homes and businesses can dry out. For people in Bay View and around Howell and Oklahoma, that answer may come quickly.