Town of Geneva declares disaster following severe storm damage
The Town of Geneva in Walworth County has declared a disaster after Friday’s storms battered the community.
TOWN OF GENEVA, WI —
The Town of Geneva in Walworth County has declared a disaster after Friday’s storms battered the community.
Town leaders unanimously approved the disaster declaration on Monday.
It is the first step toward securing state funding to help rebuild.
Town Supervisor Scott Williams said town officials worked with the county and the state’s emergency management administrators to craft the declaration to qualify for assistance from the Wisconsin Disaster Fund.
“I’ve seen images of trees that have gone into homes and gone through the roof or gone through windows through the sides of buildings,” Williams told 12 News’ Derrick Rose on Monday night. “It’s pretty alarming the level of damage.”
Williams said the funding would reimburse the town for costs associated with managing the disaster.
“We’ve had crew members and police officers out there working virtually nonstop since the storm struck,” Williams said. “And all of that costs money and all of the materials and supplies that we need costs money. It could really hurt a town like this, but fortunately, the state has this program, and hopefully we’ll qualify.”
The National Weather Service on Sunday confirmed winds up to 100 miles per hour struck Walworth County during Friday’s storm. The storm uprooted or snapped hundreds of trees and led to the deaths of three children when their boat capsized on Geneva Lake.