The Wisconsin Disaster Fund (WDF) is a state-funded reimbursement program that allows local governmental units – namely, counties, cities, townships, villages, and tribal units of government – to recoup costs incurred while responding to and recovering from disaster incidents. The state reimburses 70% of eligible costs after the local governmental unit submits a complete WDF application. The fund does not cover individuals, businesses, the agricultural sector, costs associated with snowstorms, damages covered by insurance, nor does it provide funds for mitigation activities. The fund does reimburse public disaster costs under three categories of work: Category A Debris Clearance, Category B Protective Measures, and Category C Road and Bridge Repair.

How to Apply

County and Tribal Emergency Management Directors submit the following documents:

  • Uniform Disaster Situation Report (UDSR) is recommended to be submitted within 72 hours of the start of an incident. The UDSR is submitted through WebEOC to provide basic information regarding the impact to private and public property from an incident.
  • A County Notification form is submitted via email, which list the local jurisdictions seeking WDF reimbursement and their estimated recovery costs.

Local Jurisdictions submit the following documentation:

By 60 days from the end of the incident period the Local Application and the Damage Assessment is submitted through EM Grants Pro. The final recovery work does not need to be completed by this timeframe, but the application must include:

  • Cost Estimates or Actual Costs for the Category A, B and C damages
  • Damage Assessment on the locations where the costs were incurred. The information must include the category of work, location (preferably GPS), dimensions (length, width, and depth/height), and work necessary to bring the site back to pre-disaster conditions. It is also highly recommended that photos be included of the locations prior to the damage being repaired.

Within 30 days of the application being returned to the jurisdiction, the final supporting documentation should be uploaded into EM Grants Pro. For details on what supporting documentation is required, refer to the WDF Administrative Plan. If additional time is needed to complete the recovery work, a time extension must be submitted through EM Grants Pro within the same time period.

WDF Contact Information

Kelsey Brown

Wisconsin Disaster Fund Coordinator

Phone: 608-242-3259 

Email:  widisasterfund@widma.gov