‘It’s heartbreaking’: Vermont overwhelmed by ‘devastating’ floods

ANDOVER: Two months of rain in two days in Vermont and other parts of the Northeast flooded several communities Tuesday, including the state capital, where officials said river levels at a dam just upstream appeared to be stable. Used to be. Muddy brown water from the Winooski River flowed through the capital Montpellier on Tuesday, blurring all but the top of parking meters along picturesque streets lined with vehicles and brick storefronts that flooded basements and lower floors Was. Some residents of the town of 8,000 had to wade through waist-high water; Others took canoes and boats on main roads to survey the scene. Shopkeepers took stock of damaged or lost goods. Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser said the dam remains a concern, but the town is going into recovery mode, the water is receding and public works crews are expected to begin removing mud and debris from the town Wednesday morning. Roads. Inspections of buildings will begin as soon as businesses begin cleaning their properties. “The dam didn’t collapse. The water in the dam is still up but has stabilized. “We have a feeling that there is no immediate danger of water going over the spillway of the dam,” Fraser said. “It looks like it won’t infringe. This is good. That’s one less thing we should put on our front burner.” Other signs of hope appeared as Vermont’s rivers rose and floodwaters receded, allowing officials to assess the damage and scope for further cleanup. Got a chance to The flood has already caused millions of dollars in damage across the state. State Senator Anne Watson, looking at a parked vehicle, said, “It’s heartbreaking because you know all these businesses are losing inventory and this guy obviously lost his car.” The vehicle was submerged in water in Montpellier. Similar scenes also occurred in neighboring Barre and Bridgewater, where the Ottauquechee River overflowed its banks. Brian Pfeiffer, a biologist who has lived in the Montpelier area for four decades, canoed around the downtown area to check out the damage and was shocked by what happened. he saw. The basements of every building – including the one where he works – and the lower levels of most were inundated. Even the city’s fire station was flooded. “It’s a really troubling thing when your fire station gets inundated,” Phifer said. Vermont Governor Phil Scott said flood waters have exceeded levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene. Irene killed six people in Vermont in August 2011, destroyed the foundations of homes, and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 km) of highway. The sun was out on Tuesday and more sunshine was expected on Wednesday. More rain was predicted for Thursday and Friday, but Peter Banakos, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the state would be spared further torrential rain. “We have suffered a devastating loss. “We really took the brunt of the storm,” said Ludlow City Manager Brendan McNamara, assessing the impact of flooding around the town of 1,500. “I talked to people today who said my house was destroyed. Thankfully we got out of it without any loss of life,” he said, adding that the damage was worse than Tropical Storm Irene. Ludlow will be fine. People are coming together and taking care of each other. We’ve been here before and we’ll deal with it.” Damage included the city’s water treatment plant. Its main supermarket remained closed. The main road through the city has not yet fully reopened. And McNamara couldn’t begin to estimate how many homes were damaged. The town’s Little League arena and a new skate park were destroyed, and several businesses were damaged. Colleen Dooley returned to her condominium complex in Ludlow on Tuesday and They found that the grounds were covered with silt and mud and the pool was filled with dirty river water. Flood waters had carried away a wooden pool deck about 300 feet (100 m); the nearby Black River was still in spate. Dooley, a 59-year-old retired teacher, said, “I don’t know when we’ll go back, but it’s going to take some time.” A woman was swept away in New York Monday. Vermont emergency management said Tuesday that in Vermont There were no reports of injuries or deaths related to the flooding, where rapid water rescue teams with the assistance of National Guard helicopter crews conducted more than 100 rescues. This involved an “extremely high-risk rescue” where the one-man New Hampshire team decided to drive around a barricaded road, said Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue. “The car was almost swept off the road into the river,” he said. There were fewer flood warnings and advisories than Monday, and most were concentrated in the north of the state. Road crews removed debris Tuesday, reopening Interstate 89 as it follows the Winooski River between Montpelier and Middlesex. The slow-moving storm reached New England on Sunday after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut. Some communities received between 7 and 9 inches (18 cm and 23 cm) of rain. Towns in southwestern New Hampshire were heavily flooded and roads were washed away, and the Connecticut River was expected to rise above flood stage on Wednesday in Hartford and towns to the south. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrator Richard Spinrad said Tuesday that 13.7 million people were under an inland flood alert. on Tuesday. Storm surges in warmer climates are more likely to cause catastrophic flooding, say atmospheric scientists, and the planet’s rising temperatures will make it worse. President Joe Biden, attending the annual NATO summit in Lithuania, declared a state of emergency for Vermont and authorized a federal emergency. The management agency will help coordinate and provide assistance to disaster relief efforts. He also spoke to Governor and Senator Bernie Sanders. FEMA sent a team to Vermont with emergency communications equipment, and stands ready to continue supplying shelters if the state requests it. Regional spokesman Dennis Pinkham said Tuesday that the agency is also monitoring flooding in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. One of the worst affected places was New York’s Hudson Valley, where a woman identified by police as 43-year-old Pamela Nugent died. Escaping a flooded house with his dog in the village of Fort Montgomery. More than 8 inches (20 cm) of rain fell at the US Military Academy at West Point, causing debris to slide down some streets and flood others. Several rescue teams were stationed in Montpellier, where dispatch, police and fire operations were transferred to a water treatment plant after heavy flooding flooded City Hall and the police and fire departments. In addition, the radio towers they use for emergency calls were not working, said Police Chief Erik Nordenson. Shelters were set up at churches, the town hall and the Barre Municipal Auditorium, where food was being delivered to more than 200 people seeking shelter – including those who had found evacuation from two area homeless shelters a challenge. “We’re trying to find ways to get supplies to them,” said John Montes, regional disaster officer for the American Red Cross for northern New England.



Source link