The August 9–10, 2025 floods caused historic damage across Southeast Wisconsin, and recovery efforts remain underway. Just eight months later, another round of severe storms and flooding in April 2026 caused widespread damage and resulted in a second federal disaster declaration. Many households and communities are now navigating the impacts of multiple disasters while long-term recovery continues.
To support ongoing needs, a Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG) has formed to bring together community, volunteer, faith-based, government, and private-sector partners throughout Southeast Wisconsin. As needs evolve, the effort is expanding to address both ongoing and emerging impacts—and new partners are welcome.
Scale of Impact
The August 2025 flooding resulted in more than 46,000 FEMA Individual Assistance registrations, representing more than 130,000 people throughout Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Washington counties.
FEMA data identified more than 26,000 homes across Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Washington counties with damage affecting habitability or requiring significant repairs.
Approximately 98% of FEMA applicants following the August flooding did not have flood insurance.
More than half of FEMA registrants were renters, and nearly one-third reported a household member with access or functional needs.
Just eight months later, Wisconsin experienced another severe weather outbreak from April 13–23, 2026, resulting in more than 5,000 damage reports to 211 statewide and another federal disaster declaration.
More than 30,000 households have registered for FEMA assistance following the April storms and flooding, including more than 27,000 in Southeast Wisconsin.
Local outreach indicates that some Milwaukee-area households affected by the August 2025 flooding experienced flooding again in April 2026, compounding existing recovery needs.
Current Focus Areas
Long-term recovery is a collaborative effort that continues well beyond the immediate response. Partners are working together to identify unmet needs, connect households with support, mobilize resources, and strengthen the capacity needed for recovery.
Contacting Households
Connecting with flood-impacted residents to identify ongoing needs and help navigate available recovery resources.
Addressing Ongoing Cleanup & Repair Needs
Connecting households with volunteer groups and organizations that can assist with remaining cleanup, mold remediation, repairs, rebuilding, and other unmet recovery needs from the August 2025 and April 2026 flooding.
Coordinating Offers to Help
Matching organizations, volunteers, services, and other offers of assistance with identified household and community recovery needs.
Mobilizing Resources
Engaging businesses, funders, faith-based organizations, and community partners to help secure funding, materials, supplies, and other resources needed for recovery. Learn More
Connecting Partners
Convening organizations across sectors to support information sharing, coordination, resource alignment, and reduction of duplicated efforts.
Planning for What’s Next
Supporting ongoing recovery coordination efforts while advancing broader community resilience and preparedness initiatives.
Current Needs
There are active, ongoing needs to support flood recovery—from volunteers and skilled labor to materials and funding.
Identified through the Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG), and supported by the Southeast Wisconsin COAD, these opportunities connect partners and resources directly to recovery efforts.
How We Are Structured
Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG)
The LTRG is open to everyone supporting the long-term recovery efforts from this flooding event. Meetings-of-the-Whole provide updates on all LTRG efforts and opportunities to collaborate between partners. If you’re new and would like to learn more, this is a great place to start.
Steering Committee
Supports strategic guidance, alignment, and decision-making related to LTR priorities and coordination.
Subcommittees:
Disaster Case Management (DCM):
- Connects people to resources.
- Identifies unmet needs and barriers to help.
- Supports navigation through programs.
Contact: ert@wisconsinumc.org
Resources Subcommittee:
- Identifies resources to help.
- Aligns partners providing services.
- Supports information-sharing and workflow.
Contact: coadsewi@gmail.com
Community Resilience:
- Focused on capacity-building and preparing for future disasters.
- Addresses systems-level change.
- Improves equity and access.
Contact: fotoole@milwaukee.gov
Help Wanted! Seeking paid and volunteer roles to support flood recovery.
Get Involved
How to Get Involved:
- Join LTRG meetings or participate in a subcommittee
- Partner with the LTRG to provide resources, services, or connections to partners who can support this recovery effort.
- Join a volunteer group to assist households still in need of clean-up, repairs, or rebuilding help.
More info on how to get involved will be shared as coordination efforts continue. For more information coadsewi@gmail.com.