Vermont flooding leads to state of emergency declaration for entire state | CBC News

A storm that dumped up to two months of rain in two days in Vermont and other parts of the U.S. northeast brought more flooding Tuesday in communities marooned by water, where a dam just upstream was threatening to overflow.

The flooding has already caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, officials said, with more to come: If water pours over the dam on the Winooski River that flows through the state capital Montpelier, it could surge through downtown blocks where the floods were already waist-high.

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.

Flooding hits Vermont after torrential rain

Vermont is seeing major flooding after heavy rains from a slow-moving storm. Some communities are urging people to exercise caution and stay off the roads.

As well, some 50 isolated people were rescued by swift boat, said Mark Bosma, spokesperson for Vermont Emergency Management, on WCAX television.

While in Lithuania for the NATO summit, U.S. President Joe Biden signed off on an emergency declaration for all 14 of Vermont’s counties, freeing up federal assistance money for rescue and recovery efforts.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings and advisories for much of the state from the Massachusetts line north to the Canadian border. Quebec City and other parts of the province face a soggy forecast for the rest of the week.

Downtown Montpelier, a city of 8,000, was swamped between the capitol building and the Winooski River. Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser warned that the Wrightsville Dam several kilometres to the north could exceed capacity for the first time.

“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.”

‘It’s going on for days’: governor

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 Scott 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 805 kilometres of highway.

What’s different is that Irene lasted just about 24 hours, Scott said.

“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.

Travel cancellations

Troy Caruso, who owns a golf course, five restaurants and a motel in Ludlow, Vt., said he’s been checking the damage to his properties and in the town of about 800 people. A supermarket and shopping centre were “wiped out,” he said, as was a steakhouse and possibly a burger joint he owned.

“It’s flooded beyond belief,” Caruso said of the town, noting that the 10th hole of his golf course was underwater. “We just got done cleaning up these properties, flowers planted, the whole nine yards,” he said. “We are going to have to start all over again.”

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 in the hamlet of Fort Montgomery.

The flash flooding dislodged boulders that rammed into the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press. Two other people escaped.

“She was trying to get through [the flooding] with her dog,” Neuhaus said, “and she was overwhelmed by tidal wave-type waves.”

The storm also interrupted travel. There were hundreds of flight cancellations at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports and more than 200 cancelled at Boston’s Logan Airport, according to the Flightaware website. Amtrak temporarily suspended service between Albany and New York.