Vermont capital cut off by floodwaters as more rain forecast later in week

A local dam could exceed capacity from the flooding, spurring officials to warn residents to ‘go to upper floors in their houses’

A storm that left up to two months’ worth of rain in Vermont has cut off the capital of Montpelier from the rest of the state while the deadly deluge that has saturated parts of New England and New York continues to spark flash flood warnings.

Amid fears of dams failing if water wasn’t released – exacerbating the dangerous flooding – and the further collapse of roadways, many roads on Tuesday remained closed in Vermont including several along the spine of the Green Mountains, and in upstate New York.

The National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings and advisories across Vermont from the Massachusetts line north to the Canadian border. In the south and west, states were blistering under a worsening heatwave, as the US embarked on another week of extreme weather and experts warned that the human-caused climate crisis is driving the record-breaking conditions.

More than 13 million Americans were under flood watches and warnings from eastern New York state to Boston and western Maine to the north-east, the National Weather Service said in its forecast on Monday, and there have been more than 50 rescues by boat.

The slow-moving north-eastern storm, dumping extreme amounts of water as it lingered over communities on Sunday and Monday, reached New England after hitting parts of New York, where one person died as she tried to leave her home during a flash flood and was swept away by storm waters in front of her fiance, officials said

Joe Biden, who is in Vilnius, Lithuania, attending the annual Nato summit, declared that a state of emergency was confirmed in Vermont and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to help coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance.

Montpelier, Vermont, on 10 July 2023. Photograph: Maggie Lenz/Reuters

The White House will continue to monitor the effects of the flooding, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing on Tuesday, urging people in affected areas “to please, please be safe, and follow safety protocols”.

Some communities received 7-9in (17.78-22.86cm) of rain in less than 24 hours.

Flooding affected Montpelier, the Vermont state capital, where Interstate 89, a major highway, was closed in both directions between Montpelier, Middlesex and north of Montpelier.

Montpelier, VT is cut off from the rest of the state.

WeatherNation Field Correspondent @jpetramala reports from the historic flooding in the state capital. #VTwx #flood pic.twitter.com/WbqOjCip1C

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 11, 2023

Montpelier town manager Bill Fraser warned that the Wrightsville dam several miles to the north on the north branch of the Winooski River could exceed capacity, something that’s never happened before.

“There would be a large amount of water coming into Montpelier which would drastically add to the existing flood damage,” he said, adding that there are very few evacuation options remaining.

“People in at-risk areas may wish to go to upper floors in their houses.”

Vermont’s governor, Phil Scott, said the state had not seen rainfall like this since Tropical Storm Irene hit the region in August 2011, which killed six in the state, washed homes off their foundations, and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805km) of highway. What’s different is that Irene lasted just about 24 hours, Scott said.

A car slowly navigates over a washed-out road in Winchester, New Hampshire on 10 July 2023. Photograph: Cj Gunther/EPA

“This is going on. We’re getting just as much rain, if not more. It’s going on for days. That’s my concern. It’s not just the initial damage. It’s the wave, the second wave, and the third wave,” he said.

Shelters were set up at churches and town halls. Some people canoed to the Cavendish Baptist church in Vermont, which had turned into a shelter while volunteers made cookies for firefighters working on rescues.

“People are doing OK. It’s just stressful,” shelter volunteer Amanda Gross said.

Vermont state representative Kelly Pajala said she and about a half dozen others evacuated early on Monday from a four-unit apartment building on the West River in Londonderry.

“The river was at our doorstep,” said Pajala. “We threw some dry clothes and our cats into the car and drove to higher ground.”

People in New York and Connecticut were cleaning up from earlier rain. The National Weather Service in Burlington said rain in the northern part of Vermont was expected to lessen on Tuesday, but more rain was forecast for Thursday.

One of the worst-hit places was New York’s Hudson Valley, where a woman identified by police as Pamela Nugent, 43, died as she tried to escape her flooded home with her dog in the hamlet of Fort Montgomery.

Officials say the storm has already caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.

Atmospheric scientists say destructive flooding events are spurred by storms forming in a warmer atmosphere, making extreme rainfall a reality.

The additional warming that scientists predict is coming will only make it worse.

Source

Also -- must read -- Northeast storms dump over 2 months’ worth of rain on Vermont: Live weather updates.  View the video of the devastation.

Latest -- must read -- Vermont capital Montpelier prepares for worst as major dam is just ONE FOOT from bursting: Two months of rain falls in two days as homes flood and owners are told it's TOO LATE to evacuate