Fond du Lac, Wis. — Across the Midwest, flooding forced thousands to seek refuge in shelters. Waterlogged highways were closed, and governors proclaimed disaster areas as floodwaters rose to dangerous levels.
There was at least one fatality, after a farmer was swept away.
In Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the water is receding. But Ronda and Brad Haseleu’s house is a soggy mess.
“It was all the way up to the top of our basement down there,” Ronda Haseleu said.
While speaking with CBS News, an alarm was going off.
“Fire alarm, our carbon monoxide alarm that is going off in our basement right now that we have no way of getting to cause,” Ronda Haseleu said.
“It’s underwater,” Brad Haseleu added.
Wisconsin has been buried in snow. Eau Claire had four and a half feet in February, beating the old record by a foot and a half. On Thursday, rain and a rapid 50-degree thaw created ice flows that jammed at the bridges sending water over the banks.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota has a new, unwelcome lake and a bridge buckled in Nebraska.
Back in Fond du Lac, the Haseleus had no choice but to start pumping.
The weather turned colder on friday, and will be in the 20s Friday night, freezing the floodwaters and potentially starting the cycle all over again.
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