Rescue teams and local officials across Vermont braced for more rain and flooding Tuesday after heavy rains washed out roads and forced evacuations in the Northeast
Swift water rescue teams and local officials across Vermont braced for more precipitation and flooding Tuesday after persistent heavy rains drenched the state and other parts of the Northeast, unleashing fast-moving waters that washed out roads, trapped residents in their homes and disrupted travel.
One person was killed in New York as she tried to leave her inundated house.
There have been no reports of injuries or deaths related to the flooding in Vermont, according to emergency officials. But dozens of roads were closed, including many along the spine of the Green Mountains. And the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings and advisories for much of the state from the Massachusetts line north to the Canadian border.
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers said late Monday they expected two dams to release water overnight, causing “severe flooding” downstream likely to affect multiple towns.
Rescue crews from North Carolina, Michigan and Connecticut were among those helping to get to Vermont towns on Monday that had been unreachable since torrents of rain began belting the state, according to Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue.
Swift water rescue teams in Vermont have done more than 50 rescues, mainly in the southern and central areas of the state, Vermont Emergency Management said Monday night.
“We have not seen rainfall like this since Irene,” Vermont Gov. Phil said, referring to Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. That storm killed six in the state, washed homes off their foundations and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 kilometers) of highway.
What’s different is that Irene lasted just about 24 hours, Scott said.
