Vermonters are working to dry out homes and businesses damaged by this week’s historic flooding and keeping a wary eye on the horizon with another round of storms on the horizon
The Marshfield Village Store, which sits at the junction of two country highways in a tiny Vermont town, has become a little bit of everything in recent days as residents struggle to recover from historic floods that battered the state.
First the shop in Marshfield, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of the state’s biggest city, Burlington, served as a shelter for about three dozen people. By Friday it was a distribution center for much-needed fresh water and a go-to for supplies.
“We’re about to start putting it out more formally, if there are other folks who haven’t been able to get the support that they need yet, so that we can get equipment and volunteers to them, emergency medication, work on their properties, that’s where we’re at right now,” said Michelle Eddleman McCormick, the store’s general manager.
Storms dumped up to two months’ worth of rain in a couple of days in parts of the region earlier this week, surpassing the amount that fell when Tropical Storm Irene blew through in 2011 and caused major flooding. Officials called this week’s flooding the state’s worst natural disaster since floods in 1927, and some suggested storms like this showed the impacts of climate change.
The flooding has been blamed for one death: Stephen Davoll, 63, drowned in his home Wednesday in Barre, a central Vermont city of about 8,500 people, according to Vermont Emergency Management spokesman Mark Bosma. He urged people to continue taking extra care as they return to their homes and repair damage.
“The loss of a Vermonter is always painful, but it is particularly so this week,” U.S. Sen. Peter Welch said in statement.
It was the second flood-related death stemming from a storm system and epic flooding in the Northeast this week.
