Lake Delton in Wisconsin Dells nearly completely drained

[AliensAreFuzzy]

This past weekend there was extremely heavy rainfall in the Midwest US. In Wisconsin Dells, the water rose so much that Lake Delton overflowed County Highway A and cut a drainage path into the Wisconsin river, nearly completely draining the lake.
Linky

This is a huge disaster for the area as Wisconsin Dells is completely reliant on tourism to support the economy.

 

[aross99]

That is unbelievable... I was visiting the Dells for a meeting about a month ago. I can't imagine how that area is going to be effected by this.

I see that they will be repairing the damage where the section of the highway washed away, but how the heck are they going to refill the lake?

 

[AliensAreFuzzy]

That is unbelievable... I was visiting the Dells for a meeting about a month ago. I can't imagine how that area is going to be effected by this.

I see that they will be repairing the damage where the section of the highway washed away, but how the heck are they going to refill the lake?

The lake was actually man-made to begin with. The dam is still in place as it withstood the amount of water. Once the repairs are done to the breach, the lake should only take a few weeks to fill again. The repairs to the 400 foot wide breach are going to take quite a while though.

EDIT:
Here's a photo of the path the drainage caused.

 

[Toppa G's]

I'll be staying a night in the Dells this weekend...I'm interested to see in person what a lake without water looks like.

I feel sorry for the people who didn't have flood insurance and lost their houses...who would suspect that the lake would decide on a better path to drain to the river?