The Dane County Emergency Management estimates that August’s floods caused more than $39 million dollars of damage to public infrastructure, according to a department release Wednesday morning.
Beyond the costs to the city, Emergency Management estimates that the storms cost private sector businesses upwards of $37 million dollars and that residential damage totaled just shy of $80,000 dollars.
“Dane County residents saw historic damage from the flooding,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “Dane County will continue to work to help residents get the resources they need to recover from this event.”
Five homes were destroyed and 302 more experienced substantial damage, according to the department’s report. In all, 1,544 residences were impacted by the storms.
In the private sector, 107 businesses were affected by the floods, with roughly half of those reporting damages. The department added that, with roads still closed, many of those businesses are still experiencing flood-related losses.
Only 2 percent of flood losses reported — public or private — were insured, according to the report.
The majority of the costs to the public sector were related to loss and expense to public utilities, like electricity and sewage infrastructure, followed by loss and expense to public buildings and equipment.
“It is important that we recognize the herculean effort of local, county, and state workers, volunteers, and engaged citizens who were part of our community-wide response," said Dane County Emergency Management Director Charles A. Tubbs, Sr. "Their work started our recovery process.”
