A Kenosha County family is worried they’ll lose the house they’ve lived in for decades after floods damaged much of their property.
It’s been one week since historic floods devastated communities in southeastern Wisconsin, and on Wednesday emergency managers went door-to-door to assess damage in Kenosha County.
Dozens of homes lining the Fox River in Silver Lake have a majority of their belongings lining the curb.
“For 52 years we raised our 4 kids here,” said flood victim Dave Fiegel.
Fiegel’s emotions are raw as he’s coming to the realization he may never live in his home again.
“I’ve lived here 70 years and I’ve never seen it this bad,” he said.
Fiegel’s appliances, furniture and keepsakes are ruined after two feet of flood water filled the first floor of his home.
“It hurts, those tables are 50 years old,” he said.
Fiegel is just one of hundreds reeling from the disaster. Over the past five days, the Fox River has receded about five feet, but it’s still above flood stage. Flood victim Michael McCarville said it’s time for restoration.
“The idea is to strip everything out of there,” he said.
As the community cleans up the mess, Kenosha County emergency managers travel through flood-stricken neighborhoods.
“We want to talk to the people and find out exactly how much water did they experience,” said Kenosha Co. Planning and Development Director Andy Buehler.
The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department said 1,300 homes just within the county were affected by flooding. Based on preliminary reports, 14 of those are considered to have major damage. Buehler said there’s a threshold for federal disaster funding.
“It does require to have 25 substantially damaged homes,” he said.
Fiegel said as a retiree, his livelihood is on the line.
“We really don’t want a loan because we can’t afford to pay it back,” he said. “We’re ready for a buyout.”
