MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – The city of Madison is starting the cleanup process after a tough start to the week.
Monday night, inches of rain fell throughout Dane County in short period of time.
“It was just a relentless driving rain. Some areas got up to 13 inches, said Bob Hague of the Wisconsin Radio Network.
He said the rain fell so fast, it caught many off guard.
“It has been kind of a traumatic time for Madison and Dane County.”
Hague lives and works in Madison and was able to make it home Monday night, others were not.
“Businesses in Middleton sheltered hundreds of people overnight because they were unable to make it home.”
Hundreds were stranded in Middleton overnight in the heavy rain, including over 100 people at Costco and another 100 or so at Fairfield Inn.
One person was killed after being swept away by the water.
“A man in his 70’s basically was torn out of the grasp of rescuers and sucked into a culvert. It was a very tragic situation.”
Two other people in the vehicle the man was driving were rescued by people who came to their aid.
Hauge says the initial cleanup is expected to cost about $250 thousand dollars but that may just be the start.
“Eventually could cost to the city could run into the millions.”
Some areas in Dane County got as much as 13 inches of rain.
As flood waters start to recede in Dane County, officials are reminding you that the cleanup is going to take a while.
Wisconsin emergency management spokesman Andrew Beckett says never try to move back into a flooded home until it’s been completely cleaned.
“You don’t know exactly what was necessarily what was in the water that may have entered your home or other areas, so you need to make sure that you clean it thoroughly and that it is completely dried out as much as possible before you try to inhabit that area again.”
Any drywall that’s been flooded out will have to be replaced to prevent mold growth, and you should also make sure to do a proper inspection of your home’s foundation to make sure it’s still structurally sound.
As for stranded vehicles, Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke guestimates they dealt with up to 100 of them.
