GERMANTOWN, Wis. — The Germantown community is dealing with severe flooding for the second time this week as another rain storm hits the area, prompting evacuations and business closures.
Parts of Germantown are completely underwater after historic rainfall, with some residents evacuating their homes while others try to protect their properties from rising water.
"No one can be prepared for this," Kirk Crocker said. "This is just incredible. I don't have any other words."
Crocker bought a generator and was setting it up to try and help his mother keep her house safe and dry.
"This is just progressing more and more and more," he said. "Hopefully it doesn't come up much higher."
Watch: Water levels rise and crest while Germantown community deals with second round of flooding
At a 2 p.m. press conference Germantown Fire Chief John Delain said the water had crested and they were hopeful it would start receding. He said the flooding is a result of the Meonomnee Falls flowing toward Germantown and that it mostly impacted Riversbend Circle residents. He loosely predicted it could take four more days for the water to go down and for things to go back to normal.
The village is currently pumping water away from their lift station on to Couty Line Rd to prevent sewer backups from occurring throughout Germantown.
Joan Winkler, who also lives in Riversbend, was shocked by the severity of the flooding.
"When I saw boats out here this morning I thought oh my!" she said. "I knew we had water, but didn't realize how bad it was or how high it got up."
Winkler and her husband chose not t to evacuate but said they will if the water rises any more.
Both residents emphasized the importance of community support during this crisis.
"Check in on your neighbors," Crocker said. "Make sure they're safe. If they need any help, this or that, running to the store and getting food could be a big help for some people."
"Just watch out for your neighbor," Winkler said. "Make sure they're doing okay, because you never know what someone is going through; they might be having some problems."
The evacuations were strongly recommended but not mandated. Germantown High School is open as a shelter for those displaced by the flooding.
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.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
