New London prepares for more rain as flood waters continue to rise, April 16, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
NEW LONDON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Waupaca County officials are bracing for additional rain coming in Friday night while residents are dealing with ongoing flooding issues.
Volunteers were seen filling sandbags Thursday morning. The county has ordered more sandbags from the state.
Officials said water level on the Wolf River is 11.19 feet as of Thursday morning and they expect the river to crest by Saturday morning at 11.6 feet.
Ahead of the storm, the Red Cross opened two shelters to assist residents impacted by flooding:
- The Washington Center, 600 W. Washington St., New London
- St. John’s United Church of Christ, 101 S. Clark St., Black Creek
Eight residents stayed at the shelters overnight. Both locations remain open and are providing food, water, emotional support and access to phone charging.
Waupaca County Emergency management director Zac Van Asten says the county is in better shape Thursday than it was earlier this week, but with incoming severe weather, they are keeping an eye on the forecast.
Some local roads, including County Highway G, have reopened and dams continue to hold steady.
We Energies crews are temporarily disconnecting natural gas service to homes and business around New London and Shiocton. About 1,800 customers in New London will be affected and about 400 in Shiocton.
“We are taking this step to be able to keep homes and businesses safe. Severe flooding can damage natural gas appliances and cause natural gas to flow uncontrolled, creating a hazardous situation. Also by temporarily disconnecting service, we can also prevent longer term damage to our system which would extend the outage for our customers,” explained Matt Cullen of WPS.
A state of emergency has been declared after several rounds of intense storms Monday and Tuesday nights brought torrential rainfall, spurring dangerous flooding incidents throughout the region, resulting in washed out roads, rescues, submerged vehicles, near-failing dams and street and school closures.
Some communities in our area, including the entire village of Shiocton and parts of New London, Weyauwega and Fremont, have been evacuated.
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