BURLINGTON, Wis. — Sam Wilson thought he might lose his Burlington home.
“Honestly, we cried. We thought we might lose the house. It was getting that bad. It was going that fast, and we were devastated,” Wilson said.
READ ALSO | Gov. Evers slams Trump administration after Wisconsin denied public assistance following April storms
Wilson lives near the Fox River in Racine County. His home sustained about $20,000 in damage after severe storms and flooding impacted communities across southeastern Wisconsin in April.
FEMA has denied Public Assistance funding for Racine County, meaning local governments will not receive federal reimbursement for certain infrastructure repairs tied to the storms. Public Assistance helps cover damage to public infrastructure such as roads, culverts, drainage systems and public facilities.
Racine County told TMJ4 its verified eligible infrastructure damage totals fell just short of FEMA’s required threshold for Public Assistance — about $83,000 short of qualifying.
Watch: FEMA denies Racine County storm aid while homeowners still qualify for help
Officials say damage from the April flooding included culvert failures, drainage issues, and roadway damage, including a culvert failure on County Highway D near Rochester that required temporary roadway repairs.
The state of Wisconsin now has the option to appeal FEMA’s decision. Racine County says it will continue working with Wisconsin Emergency Management to determine whether additional eligible infrastructure damage or costs can still be submitted as part of that process.
At the same time, homeowners and some businesses may still qualify for FEMA Individual Assistance following the federal disaster declaration that includes Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Washington, Waukesha and Jefferson counties. Individual Assistance can help eligible residents with uninsured or underinsured disaster-related losses.
Newly announced IRS disaster tax relief could also allow impacted homeowners and businesses to claim certain uninsured losses and delay some federal tax deadlines until Nov. 2.
“It would be awesome if they did cover even a small amount of it,” Wilson said.
TMJ4 first met Wilson just before the storms rolled through. He plans to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance and is also looking into the newly announced federal tax relief.
For now, his recovery is on hold.
“We are putting off the contractor work, you know, ripping out the drywall and the wood, and until a later date, just because it's so expensive, you know, we can't take the hit right now,” Wilson said.
According to the state, Jefferson County was the only county in southeastern Wisconsin approved for FEMA Public Assistance funding. Other approved areas include Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, Kewaunee, Outagamie, Rock, Vernon and Waupaca counties, along with the Oneida Nation.
Resources:
FEMA INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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