Three Cheers for the City of Milwaukee!

I was out of town last week (which is why there was no blogging) and the night before coming back home I heard about the deluge that was hitting Milwaukee. The first news that I got was from a relative that was watching my home while I was gone. They informed me that I had water in the basement. Later that evening there was a power outage at my home and I had difficulty communicating with that relative, which was maddening. (Thank goodness I didn't see this video until after I was home!)

Viewing the press conferences held by City of Milwaukee officials online was certainly encouraging. It was very clear that all aspects of city government from the Mayor's office to first responders, public works and health department officials had all risen to the occasion. In addition to online access, it was also helpful to get useful information from city officials doing interviews on national outlets such as the Weather Channel.

By the time I got back home and after the City sewer system was able to catch up, nearly all of the water in my basement had already gone down the floor drain. After cleaning out the basement and tossing things that had been damaged I called the City and their clean-up crews picked the stuff up only a handful of hours later.

Although there were certainly tragedies as a result of the flooding, there were also positives to take away from the experience. Neighbors helping neighbors and City of Milwaukee officials and workers showing that they are both ready and able to respond to emergencies in our community. Our tax dollars hard at work when we need it most.