In Portage, Wisconsin, an evacuation is being carried out today after heavy rainfall that hit during the week looks set to cause a levee along the Wisconsin River to fail. Columbia County Emergency Management urged that residents around the Blackhawk Park area leave their homes immediately as the imminent flooding will make a main road impassable.

The levee is south of highway 33 and there will be no access to the Blackhawk Park area. From 4:00 pm today the access road was closed and residents will be unable to get in or out. A statement from Emergency Management read, “Emergency vehicles including police, fire and EMS will not be able to reach residents,” according to CNN.

The Portage St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church has opened up as Red Cross reception center, according to an Associated Press report on Fox News. The National Weather Service reported that on Sunday the Wisconsin River was 3.5 feet above flood level and the Caledonia-Lewiston levee system was under threat. There has been as much as 11 inches of rain in Wisconsin and Minnesota over the past week.

Jacqui Jeras a CNN meteorologist warned on Sunday that the waters may continue to rise saying, “Even though some of these rivers have crested … keep in mind that they’re still in flood, so this is going to be a problem for a couple of days.” Are you in the area suffering from flooding or have you been evacuated? We’d be interested to hear how things are for you so please do send us your comments.

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