MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on flooding around Madison, Wisconsin(all times local):
6:45 p.m.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency in flood-stricken Dane County.
Walker said Tuesday the state is ready to assist in recovery efforts after torrential rains prompted evacuations and left at least one person dead in the south-central Wisconsin county.
The governor plans to tour the flood damage on Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan sent a letter Tuesday to President Donald Trump, asking him to provide federal assistance for flood recovery efforts if Walker seeks a federal disaster declaration.
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4:25 p.m.
A Madison alderman was one of the bystanders who tried to save a man who was swept away during flash flooding in the Wisconsin capital.
Police say the rushing floodwaters wrenched the man from the grasp of his would-be rescuers as he tried to escape from his flooded Monday evening. Firefighters found his body Tuesday morning in a retention pond a third of a mile away.
The Capital Times reports that Alderman Matt Phair and his wife were biking during a lull in the storm and found the man’s car nose down in a ditch.
Phair says he and his wife helped the car’s two passengers to safety and tried along with another man to save the driver, but he was sucked away.
Phair says the force of the water was overwhelming. He says he did what anyone would have done.
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11:20 a.m.
Searchers have recovered the body of a man who was swept away during flash flooding in Wisconsin’s capital city of Madison.
Police spokesman Joel DeSpain says searchers found the man in a retention pond on Tuesday morning. He described the man in a news release as being in his 70s. He had been driving a car with two passengers when it stalled in flood waters and was swept into a drainage ditch.
DeSpain says bystanders helped the two passengers to safety but were unable to keep the driver from being sucked under the car and away by the rushing water.
The National Weather Service estimates more than 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain fell overnight in Dane County, flooding major roads, knocking out power and forcing scores of people in rural municipalities to evacuate.
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9:50 a.m.
Wisconsin officials have declared a state of emergency due to torrential rains that have caused widespread flooding around Madison.
The National Weather Service estimates that as much as 13 inches (33 centimeters) of rain has fallen in parts of western Dane County on Monday and Tuesday. It has flooded major roads and knocked out power to thousands of customers.
Firefighters were searching a flooded Madison park on Tuesday morning for a man who was swept away by the current after getting out of a vehicle. Evacuations are ongoing in the rural communities of Black Earth, Cross Plains and Mazomanie, which are just west of Madison.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi declared a state of emergency a little before 9 a.m. Tuesday. The declaration qualifies the county for state and federal disaster assistance.
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7 a.m.
Dive teams and first responders are searching for a man who was swept away in floods after a deluge of heavy rain in and around Madison, Wisconsin.
The National Weather Service says 11 to 13 inches (28 to 33 centimeters) of rain fell in some spots in western Dane County, flooding major roads and intersections and knocking out power to thousands of people.
The floods led to dozens of water rescues.
In Madison, firefighters responded to a vehicle with three occupants that was stranded in flood water about 9 p.m. Monday. Officials say only two people made it to safety and one man remains missing.
Dane County Emergency Management says Black Earth Creek hit record flood stage with evacuations underway in Black Earth, Cross Plains and Mazomanie (may-zoh-MAY’-nee).
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