MADISON (WKOW) — Gov. Tony Evers has officially declared a State of Emergency in Wisconsin, after severe storms tore through the state, taking out power for more than 100,000 people.
The declaration directs all state agencies to provide help and authorizes the activation of the National Guard to respond as needed.
“I know many people, especially in northern and central Wisconsin have been impacted by the strong storms and power outages,” said Gov. Evers in a statement. “The first responders and utilities have been doing a great job, working non-stop since the storms hit. I want to make sure all state resources are available to help get the power back on and debris removed.”
Heavy rains hit the southwest region of Wisconsin overnight on July 18, 2019, causing flash floods. Strong storms hit mainly northern and central Wisconsin on Friday, July 19, and Saturday, July 20.
A preliminary report from the National Weather Service shows four tornadoes touched down, three in Outagamie County and one in Waupaca.
129,000 people are without power in northeastern Wisconsin. Workers with just Wisconsin Public Service restored power to 150,000 customers within 48 hours.
Utility crews working around the clock to clean everything up.
“We’ve seen numerous utility poles that have been broken. We’ve seen trees that have splintered and snapped in half. There’s tons of limbs that have been downed as well,” said Matt Cullen, with WPS.
Because of the extensive damage, crews are expecting those outages to continue for multiple days. They’re calling it the worst outage they’ve seen in at least 20 years.
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