Gov. Walker visits Red Cross shelter in Mazomanie, as Madison braces for more flooding



MAZOMANIE -- Governor Scott Walker on Thursday, Aug. 23 visited with flood victims at a Red Cross shelter in Mazomanie.

The shelter, set up at the elementary school, has served about 100 people -- feeding them after heavy rain led to severe flooding Monday-Tuesday.

Gov. Walker spoke about the historic flooding in Dane County on Wednesday, and urged the community to be cautions, with more rain on the way on Friday.

"It's so overwhelming for so many people, particularly for folks who have never had flooding. It's one thing, certain areas we've seen along the Mississippi and elsewhere where it's a more common occurrence, but if you've never thought about having flooding before, you get this sense of being overwhelmed," said Walker.



Lake Monona, one of the lakes that makes up the Madison isthmus, hit the 100-year flood stage Thursday afternoon as water runoff from the flooding made its way into lakes and rivers.



More rain on the way

Madison officials warned residents that rising lake levels will lead to more flooding, including main roads in and out of the city center around the state Capitol.

The warnings Thursday came as western parts of Madison and other nearby small towns were still recovering from massive rainfall Monday night that led to flooded homes, abandoned vehicles, washed out roads and bridges and one death in Madison.

The Madison isthmus encompassing the Capitol and the city's main business and financial districts lies between Lake Mendota to Lake Monona.

The city was making sandbags available for residents and businesses to use in advance of more predicted rainfall on Friday which would worsen the situation.

The city warned it may have to close the main road east out of the isthmus, a step that would cause a traffic nightmare for residents and workers.

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