WAUTOMA (NBC 26) — More than 5 inches of rain fell on the city of Wautoma in Waushara County, causing flooding and stranding cars on local streets.
Fifteen-year-old Yovani Cervantes was working his summer job at the local A&W restaurant when he looked outside and saw the main road into Wautoma filling up with water.
"In my 15 years? I have never seen anything like this ever before," Cervantes said.
The flooding was severe enough to disrupt traffic and damage vehicles.
"There was a bunch of trash cans floating around because of how much water was going around, firefighters had to come save it. There was a car that stalled here because of how much water flew into the engine. There was car parts around," Cervantes said.
The situation forced some drivers to seek refuge at nearby businesses.
"Customers came into our parking lot and parked and came inside because they couldn't get through," Cervantes added.
Local authorities quickly responded to the emergency, sending out flood warnings to residents. The Wautoma Police Department was already on high alert due to another weather concern.
"A tornado warning went out by the National Weather Service," Chief Paul Mott of the Wautoma Police Department said. "Our officers responded over there. We couldn't really see anything because the rain was so strong and coming down."
Fortunately, no tornado materialized, allowing emergency services to focus entirely on addressing the flooding.
"As fast as it came up, it went down. Our public works department came out, the highway department for the county came out to make sure the storm drains stayed clear," Mott said. "So it was just a matter of waiting the storm out so the storm drains could do their part."
With the roads now clear, most residents have returned to their normal routines. Some residents reported flooding in their basements, but no major damages or injuries have been reported, according to Chief Mott.
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