Mayor Meets With Flood Victims

Assessments Being Done By City

(File Photo)

Monday night, many of the flood victims showed up at a fire station in Madison to get the latest information on the recovery effort from Mayor Bob Courtney.

Courtney said Madison is working with state and federal partners to deliver flood victims help, but first, the city needs those impacted to complete damage assessments, which can be found at this link. Copies can also be picked up at Madison City Hall.

"From there, we'll be working with other governmental agencies on an emergency disaster declaration, and then, we'll try to identify what financial assistance as well as assistance in the recovery process would look like," he said.

As for the creek, which neighbors like Loechler say has flooded the area before, Courtney said it's something the city is also considering.

"We'll look at all future capabilities to mitigate this," he said. "However, the bottom line is, this was a very, very torrential downpour...in a very short period of time, and it overwhelmed everything: all the tributaries and all the storm drains. So, they did — in my opinion — work the way they were intended."

Courtney added that the area of Walnut Street that flooded is considered a Special Flood Hazard Area.

For now, the clean-up continues, as neighbors like Loechler assess what was damaged and find a way to keep going.

"My main concern is nobody got hurt. You know, all the materials can be replaced