Flash Flood — Richland, Wisconsin

2016-09-22 · near Viola, Richland, Wisconsin

Event narrative

Flooding along a branch of Camp Creek sent three feet of water into a house east of Viola. Flooding along Fancy and Marshall Creeks caused roads to be closed near Gillingham. State Highway 56 was closed east of Viola due to flooding along Camp Creek and County Highway C was closed near Yuba because of flooding along the Pine River. A total of 3 homes were destroyed by the flooding with another 72 damaged.

Wider weather episode

One person was killed near Victory (Vernon County) when a house was swept down a hillside by a mudslide during the early morning hours of the 22nd. Another person drowned south of Viroqua (Vernon County) when the driver of a truck pulling a cattle trailer attempted to drive through flood waters during the afternoon or evening of the 22nd. The truck and trailer became stuck in the flood waters, which filled the passenger compartment of the truck. The flooding occurred as several rounds of thunderstorms with heavy rain moved across southwest Wisconsin from the morning of September 21st into the morning of the 22nd. The heavy rain resulted in flash flooding across portions of Adams, Clark, Crawford, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, Vernon and Trempealeau Counties. A train derailed near Ferryville (Crawford County) when the roadbed was washed away by flooding. Around 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the water from one of the locomotives. Two people had to be rescued near De Soto (Vernon County) and another in Sidie Hollow County Park southwest of Viroqua (Vernon County). Washouts and road closures occurred in Trempealeau, La Crosse, Vernon and Crawford Counties. In Vernon County alone, high water and flooding resulted in 90 road closures and 44 homes and business were destroyed. Public and private sector damages in Vernon County totaled almost $10 million. In Crawford County, 2 homes were destroyed with another 67 damaged with public and private sector damages totaling almost $5 million. Flooding on the Black River in Black River Falls (Jackson County) caused the hydroelectric dam to loose a gate when a large tree traveled over the dam. Several boats and docks that broke loose in Lake Arbutus also traveled over the dam. A state of emergency was declared in Clark, Crawford, Jackson and Vernon Counties. The Governor of Wisconsin declared a state of emergency for Adams, Clark, Crawford, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, Trempealeau and Vernon Counties. A federal disaster declaration was made for Adams, Clark, Crawford, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe and Vernon Counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.4996, -90.6422)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 659114. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.