Parts of the city of Menasha and the nearby village of Fox Crossing remained inaccessible Tuesday after an EF3 tornado — the third highest classification meaning a “severe” tornado with wind speeds between 136-165 miles per hour — struck the Fox Valley Monday afternoon.
Downed powerlines and blocked streets have shut down access to the communities while emergency response crews continue to assess the damage and restore power and water. Officials say they’ve had zero fatalities and no serious injuries reported.
“Just looking at the twisted metal and rooftops of some of the industrial buildings along the highway, it’s hard to describe the level of damage,” Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz told the Wisconsin Examiner. “We’ve had tornadoes in Wisconsin before, but in an urbanized area, the level of destruction is just incredible and we’re going to need time and patience and hopefully with everybody’s support we can get people back on their feet.”
Wanda Tracy, a spokesperson for Winnebago County, said Tuesday afternoon that responders were still in “discovery mode” to assess the damage of the storm.
At a Tuesday evening media briefing, Menasha Police Department spokesperson Matthew Roe said that 68 people were transported to area hospitals Monday with tornado-related injuries, referring to them as “walking wounded.” He added that crews have conducted two searches of the area to try to find people who might be trapped in their homes and assess the damage to roads and powerlines.
A curfew is in place in Menasha from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and parts of both Menasha and Fox Crossing remain under boil-water orders and thousands of people still don’t have power.
Hintz said that although much of the area was devastated, the timing of the storm was “lucky” because most people aren’t home at midday on a Monday.
“We have considerable challenges however,” he said. “Roadways are blocked with debris, there are downed power lines presenting both a danger and risk. Some people can’t access their property, and if they can there’s no power and it may be several days until power is restored.”
“It’s a mess and we’re going to need some patience,” he added.
Community response
Residents and businesses across the Fox Valley quickly jumped into action following the storm, with community organizations working to distribute bottled water and assistance to families.
“It’s amazing to see people come to support, even those affected,” Rebecca Rockhill, executive director of the northeast Wisconsin Red Cross, told the Examiner.
Rockhill was managing a shelter established at Christ the Rock Community Church in Menasha where 38 people spent the night Monday following the storm. She said that more than 60 people had arrived at the site Tuesday to get meals, resources and charge their phones.
Hotels throughout the region were fully booked Tuesday.
Rockhill said that the best way to support the Red Cross recovery efforts is through financial donations to help purchase equipment such as tarps, rakes and garbage bags to help with cleanup.
Down the street at the former UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus, Carolyn Desrosiers, CEO of Volunteer Fox Cities, was leading the effort to coordinate the more than 1,000 volunteers who came to help. Pallets of bottled water sat outside the campus planetarium building. She said that the first donation of the day came from an 11-year-old boy who came to give his allowance.
“We’re focused on helping organize the helpers,” she said. “It’s awful to wait but help is on the way.”
Desrosiers added that people who want to help should go sign up at the coordination center to register and get a safety briefing so they learn what is needed, how to stay out of the way of work crews and stay safe around the downed powerlines.
Roe said at the Tuesday evening briefing that the most needed donations were Lysol wipes, diapers, cleaning supplies, hearing and eye protection.
Disaster relief
Gov. Tony Evers announced a state of emergency for the region on Tuesday.
“We are continuing to assess the devastation and destruction Wisconsin is seeing, especially in the Fox Cities, and we are committed to doing everything we can to help every family, business, and community affected recover,” Evers said in a statement. “This emergency declaration will ensure every available resource is deployed so we can respond quickly to the needs on the ground, and I want to thank the neighbors, emergency and first responders, local partners, and volunteers who are already working to help to restore essential services, clean up neighborhoods, and assess the damages. Together, we will recover and recover stronger, and I ask everyone to keep the families and communities affected in your thoughts over the coming days and weeks as they rebuild.”
Hintz told the Examiner the emergency declaration will help move resources and that he’s making a request for National Guard troops to come bolster the “capacity to clean up.”
“We need more manpower and equipment to clear some roadways to get the utility and power back on for people that have a home to return to,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Winnebago County website displayed banners directing people to the tornado response and to federal disaster relief for the major flooding that hit the region in April.
In recent months, the federal disaster relief system has been under a microscope due to President Donald Trump’s unwillingness to provide funds to areas represented by Democrats.
Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Appleton) told the Examiner that there’s an effort among legislators of both parties to “nudge that along at a federal level.”
“When a disaster strikes a community, partisan politics are put aside locally and we try to come together as a group and help our neighbors,” she said.
Climate Change
The tornado hit the state just weeks after wildfires in Canada and northern Minnesota blanketed Wisconsin with smoke while record-breaking heat domes pushed temperatures dangerously high.
Wisconsin has also seen an above average number of tornadoes and severe storms this summer as climate change shifts the country’s weather patterns.
Snodgrass said that on Tuesday, one of her staff members was at the National Conference of State Legislatures summit in Chicago where he attended a panel on disaster management and mitigation.
“This is part of the reason why Democrats so desperately want a trifecta,” she said, referring to hopes that the party can win both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s office this year. “The time to do something about this was 20 years ago. To stave back the occurrence of these natural disasters we’re going to have to make some pretty impactful legislation move forward.”
