Flooding receded in Vermont cities and towns battered by a storm that brought two months’ worth of rain in two days, allowing authorities to focus on recovering from a disaster that trapped residents in their homes, shut down roads and clogged streets and businesses with mud and debris.
In the capital city, Montpelier, where streets were inundated on Tuesday by the rising Winooski River, authorities said water levels in an upstream dam appeared stable.
“It looks like it won’t break. Alright. That’s one less thing we have to have on our front lines,” said Montpelier City Manager Bill Fraser.
Fraser said the dam remains a lingering concern, but with the receding water, the city was shifting into recovery mode. Public works employees were expected to be out on Wednesday to begin removing mud and debris from the center and building inspections will begin as businesses begin cleaning up their properties.
Governor Phil Scott planned to tour flood-affected areas with Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Wednesday, one day after President Joe Biden declared an emergency for Vermont and authorized federal relief assistance. disaster relief.
The slow-moving storm made its way to New England after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut on Sunday. Some communities received between 7 and 9 inches (18 and 23 centimeters) of rain. Cities in southwestern New Hampshire experienced heavy flooding and road washouts, and the Connecticut River was expected to exceed flood stage Wednesday in Hartford and southern cities.
Across downtown Montpelier, brown water from the Winooski had submerged vehicles and nearly every parking meter along quaint streets lined with brick storefronts whose basements and lower floors were flooded. Some residents of the city of 8,000 made their way through waist-deep water Tuesday; others canoed and kayaked up the main streets to survey the scene.
Bryan Pfeiffer canoeed downtown to check the damage and was horrified by what he saw. The basement of all the buildings, including the one where he works, and the lower levels of most were flooded. Even the city’s fire station was flooded.
“It’s really concerning when your fire station is under water,” Pfeiffer said.
Similar scenes played out in neighboring Barre and in Bridgewater, where the Ottauquechee River burst its banks.
Scott said flood waters exceeded levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene. Irene killed six people in Vermont in August 2011, leveling the foundations of homes and damaging or destroying more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 kilometers) of highways.
The flooding has already caused tens of millions of dollars in damage across the state. There have been no reports of flood-related injuries or deaths in Vermont, where swiftwater rescue teams aided by National Guard helicopter crews performed more than 100 rescues, Vermont Emergency Management said Tuesday.
One of the hardest-hit places was New York’s Hudson Valley, where a woman identified by police as 43-year-old Pamela Nugent died while trying to escape her flooded home with her dog in the village of Fort Montgomery.
Atmospheric scientists say destructive flooding is occurring more frequently as storms form in a warmer atmosphere, and rising temperatures on the planet will only make matters worse.
In Vermont, more rain was forecast for Thursday and Friday, but Peter Banacos, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the state will be spared more torrential downpours.
Much of the focus has been on reopening roads, reining in isolated homeowners, and clearing mud and debris from waterlogged businesses.
“We suffered catastrophic damage. We really did bear the brunt of the storm,” Ludlow City Manager Brendan McNamara said as he assessed the impact of the flooding on the city of 1,500.
Among the losses was the city’s water treatment plant. Its main supermarket remained closed. The main road through town had not yet been fully reopened and McNamara couldn’t begin to estimate how many houses had been damaged. The city’s Little League field and a new skate park were destroyed, and dozens of businesses were damaged.
“Luckily we got through it without loss of life,” McNamara said. “Ludlow will be fine. People come together and take care of each other.”
Colleen Dooley returned to her Ludlow condo complex Tuesday to find the grounds covered in silt and mud and the pool filled with muddy river water.
“I don’t know when we’ll be back, but it will certainly be for a while,” said Dooley, a retired teacher.
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