New London flooding, April 17, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
WASHINGTON (WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin’s congressional delegation banded together Thursday to ask President Donald Trump to honor a disaster declaration submitted last week by Gov. Tony Evers in response to April’s severe storms and devastating floods.
The letter sent to Trump represents a moment of rare bipartisanship. It was signed by all eight of Wisconsin’s representatives in the House — six Republicans and two Democrats — as well as Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. The only member of the delegation missing is Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
“We write in strong support of the state of Wisconsin’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration, and subsequent requests for Individual and Public Assistance,” the letter reads, in part.
Many of the affected areas are small rural communities that incurred unprecedented damage which is beyond their capacity to manage.
This delegation is committed to working with your administration, FEMA and Wisconsin Emergency Management to guarantee that Wisconsin residents and communities get the assistance they need.
A joint preliminary damage assessment from Wisconsin Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency determined the storms and flooding caused more than $27 million in damage.
Evers’ request includes FEMA Individual Assistance for affected residents and families in 19 counties and one Tribal Nation, FEMA Public Assistance for emergency work and infrastructure repairs in 14 counties and one Tribal Nation and FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to help reduce the impact of future disasters for the entire state.
After the flooding, Evers asked FEMA to assist the state in conducting preliminary damage assessments. More than 1,570 residential properties were evaluated. WEM and FEMA estimated the total damage costs for those properties to be more than $9.8 million. Additionally, the preliminary damage assessment for Public Assistance found over $17.6 million in public sector damage.
According to Evers’ request letter to Trump, 148 homes were damaged in Outagamie County, with verified damage costs estimated at over $1.4 million. In Waupaca County, 191 homes were damaged totaling more than $1.95 million. Winnebago County had 37 damaged homes.
Intense flooding in Shiocton and New London resulted in evacuation orders and businesses and homes being filled with several inches of water, creating headaches for many residents.
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