A 'potentially dangerous situation' looms as Vermont grapples with worst flood in nearly 100 years
A deluge of epic proportions dropped more than three months' worth of rain across parts of the Northeast this week, resulting in one of the worst floods in nearly 100 years in Vermont. More than 200 people have been rescued in Vermont alone, while the floods killed at least one person in New York.
In Vermont's state capital of Montpelier, a "potentially dangerous situation" was unfolding as one of the dams that provides flood protection to the city was nearing its capacity. The Wrightsville Dam, located on the Winooski River, was "holding at maximum capacity" as of late Tuesday afternoon, according to city officials.
"If water exceeds capacity, the first spillway will release water into the North Branch River," City Manager William Fraser wrote in a Facebook update on Tuesday morning. "This has never happened since the dam was built, so there is no precedent for potential damage."
By Wednesday morning, city officials confirmed the water levels in the Wrightsville Dam were "beginning to recede."
"This is the second biggest flood we've ever had in the city of Montpelier," Montpelier Mayor Jack McCullough said in an interview on AccuWeather Early Tuesday. "The only one worse has been the historic flood in 1927 that affected much of the state."
According to McCullough, the Montpelier city hall, fire department and police department have all been evacuated. He said the city government is operating out of an emergency operation center in the city's water plant, which is located on higher ground.
Additionally, three radio towers, which are used to dispatch fire and ambulance services, were not functional as of Tuesday morning, according to the Montpelier Police.
Vermont is in a "much better" state on Wednesday morning than it was on Tuesday, Vermont Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, Jennifer Morrison, said in a press conference on Wednesday morning.
According to Morrison, more than 200 water rescues have taken place. Additionally, the state has facilitated over 100 evacuations.
"I'm relieved to say that as of 8 a.m. [EDT Wednesday morning], no fatalities have been reported," said Morrison. "This is undoubtedly due to two things: Vermonter's common sense and resilience and the incredible dedication, professionalism and hard work of our first responder community."
On Tuesday morning, while visiting Vilnius, Lithuania, for the NATO summit, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Vermont and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.
"Vermont's capital city, and many other communities across the state, are underwater. The devastation and flooding we're experiencing across Vermont is historic and catastrophic," Vermont Gov. Phil Scott wrote on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. "The coming weeks will be difficult, but we've faced challenges before, and Vermonters have risen to meet the moment."
Help from additional states, such as New Hampshire, North Carolina, California and Connecticut, has been deployed in Vermont.
Floodwaters swallowed several streets across Vermont Monday. According to the Vermont State Police, at least two dozen roads across the state have been closed due to flooding.
On Tuesday morning, water levels were slowly receding in Weston, Vermont, which is located roughly 69 miles south of Montpelier. Residents were able to see firsthand the damage the water left behind.
"Irene was pretty similar," Weston resident Luke Bonang told Storm Chaser Brandon Clement as he stood in front of a water-damaged and cracked roadway. "We saw this 12 years ago, but this seems to be a little bit worse."
In 2011, Irene brought upwards of 8 inches of rain to Vermont during an 18-hour span. The storm killed three people in Vermont and left more than $700 million in damages, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The highest rainfall total in Vermont came from Calais, which is a town located about 10 miles north of Montpelier. A total of 9.61 inches of rain was measured in the town over a 48-hour period ending on Tuesday morning.
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Plymouth, Vermont, measured 9.05 inches of rain. Plymouth is located roughly 52 miles south of Montpelier.
Rainfall totals surpassed double digits in New York. In Putnam Valley, New York, which is located in New York's Hudson Valley, 10.49 inches of rain was measured during a 48-hour period ending Tuesday morning. This was the highest rainfall total of the storm.
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Northeast rainfall reports ending on Tuesday morning. |
The slow-moving storm that dumped more than 9 inches of rain in Vermont also brought deadly flooding to New York, among other Northeastern states. One of the worst-hit places was New York's Hudson Valley, where a woman died Sunday amid the flash floods.
Pamela Nugent, 43, died in Fort Montgomery, New York, as she tried to escape her flooded home on Sunday, her father, Edward Nugent, told AccuWeather National Reporter Jillian Angeline in an interview on Wednesday.
According to Edward, the backyard had collapsed during the storm, and Pamela feared for the worst. She put a leash on her dog and headed outside.
"She tried to come across the street," said Edward. "We screamed at her, 'Stay in the house.'"
But, determined to get to a safer location, Edward and Pamela's fiance Rob watched as she crossed the street.
"She got to the middle of the street," said her father. "She [was] gone just like that."
"Orange County experienced a one-in-1,000-years weather event [Sunday] night," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press conference on Monday morning. "The rain has subsided, but the crisis is not over."
Late Sunday, Hochul declared a state of emergency for Orange County due to the deadly flash floods. Roughly an hour later, Hochul expanded the state of emergency to include Ontario County, which is located just southeast of Rochester, due to the significant flooding the area was experiencing.
"Make no mistake: This is our new normal," said Hochul. "We are the first generation to feel the impacts of climate change and the last generation with a shot at doing anything about it."
Trooper Steven V. Nevel of the New York State Police told The New York Times that several bridges had collapsed and many roads were impassable, including the Palisades Interstate Parkway, which is a heavily traveled road in the area.
Highland Falls, a town in Orange County, was unreachable from Interstate 87 or Route 6 due to the flooding, according to News 12.
The Deputy Commissioner of Orange County, New York, Alan Mack told AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno and AccuWeather Senior Television Meteorologist Kristina Shalhoup that floodwaters Sunday evening completely cut off the village of Highland Falls from surrounding areas.
"The roads have been washed out, and where they weren't, the low-lying roads were flooded," said Mack. "People that were there were stuck there and people on the outside, couldn't get in."
Mack said water levels receded a bit Monday morning, allowing emergency officials to get in and set up a command post. He emphasized that people should remain off the roadways until the water fully recedes.
More than three and half months' worth of rain fell in less than 24 hours on Sunday in some parts of New York.
"It was just absurd. I've never seen anything like that," Fort Montgomery Resident Keith DePaolis told Angeline. "The entire backyard just had a river running through it, through my in-law's backyard into my neighbor's backyard, destroyed their yard. We had debris from all the houses down the street over there."
Some residents said the damage from the storms was comparable to that of a tornado.
"It went through my house like a tornado," Highland Falls Residents Raymond Terio told Angeline. "It took out the bar room, it took out the basement, took out the thing, flipped over the freezer."
The Metro-North Railroad service between Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie was temporarily suspended Sunday due to the flooding rain. By Tuesday morning, a partial restoration of train services resumed on the Hudson Line between Grand Central Terminal and Peekskill, ABC7 reported.
Metro-North Railroad services will continue to offer a limited bus service for essential travelers between Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie.
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AccuWeather's preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from the heavy rain and significant flooding in the Northeast over the weekend is between $3-5 billion.
"This estimate is preliminary because many of the areas that were hardest hit are more rural communities and have not yet reported complete information about damage, injuries, and other impacts," AccuWeather Vice President of Operations Quality and Innovation Marshall Moss said on Monday evening.
AccuWeather's damage estimate incorporates independent methods to evaluate the direct and indirect impacts of the storm, including both insured and uninsured losses. It is based on a variety of sources, statistics, and unique techniques AccuWeather uses to estimate the damage to property, job and wage losses, crops, infrastructure damage, interruption of the supply chain, auxiliary business losses and flight delays or cancellations.
"To put this recent Northeast flooding event into context, the AccuWeather estimate for the total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Irene, which also brought catastrophic flooding in 2011 to some of these same areas, would be $12-17B," said Moss.
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