Thursday, September 23, 2010

Wet Weather in Wisconsin

     Much of western Wisconsin is experiencing heavy rains and flooding today. One of the most severe areas is the city of Arcadia, roughly 50 miles south of Eau Claire. It is a city of 2,400 and some were relocated last night. People are being advised to stay out of the city which is in a state of emergency. No deaths or injuries have been reported yet. There was a very early warning for the flooding (I remember seeing it on the news Wednesday morning.) The police and fire department responded very promptly. The Red Cross has made a church in Arcadia a shelter for residents. Also the National Guard has deployed emergency vehicles to Arcadia to help get people out. Overall, I think the advanced warning and the responce to the floods and rain was very prompt and effective.
     Like I mentioned earlier, I saw this warning on the news Wednesday morning. But I forgot about it because I didn't think it would be that big of a deal and it was a boring news story with graphs and radar images. So when I saw that Arcadia was is a state of emergency with video and pictures of the high rains and flooding, I was alittle shocked. I think this just goes to show we as a society in general are not interested in disasters and weather unless it is happening right now and is severe.

Links:

LaCrosse Tribune article on the State of Emergency in Arcadia:
http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_c736a1e0-c6ff-11df-8334-001cc4c002e0.html

WEAU report on the Red Cross setting up shelter in Arcadia:
http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/103606404.html

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