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The Morning After Hurricane Irene In Vermont, Flooding Of Epic Proportions

29 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

The sky is mostly sunny with some clouds lingering, but no rain.  The flash floods of Sunday, though, are not gone yet.  The Otter Creek is still above flood stage and various roads are still out.  In fact, as of late last night- around midnight- Rutland was cut off from the world as the road in all four directions was either under water or washed out.  Rutland was not the only place in the state to be cut off like that.

The worst of the devastation is in the South of the state.  Castleton College is under water and will not reopen until at least Tuesday.  There has been no word about the other colleges in the area.

According to WCAX, Rutland Mayor Chris Louras held an emergency meeting with the board of alderman Sunday evening.  There are three major areas of concern with regards to flooding inside the city at this time.  At approximately 1:30 pm, Michael Garofano, the city’s water treatment plant supervisor, and his son Mike went out to check the water flow near the system inlet in Mendon.  They lost cell phone contact with them.

Flooding in the city continues to be centered around Earl Street, Dorr Drive, Clement Road, Ripley Road, River Street, Meadow Street, Water Street, and Parts of Forest Street with power being out in much of the Southwest quadrant of Rutland.

Mount Saint Joseph’s soccer field is also completely underwater with its 9 foot tall goal posts barely visible under the Otter Creek’s water.

The Brandon House of Pizza at the intersection of Route 7 and Route 73 came off of its foundation and was last known to be in the middle of the road.  This came as President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration in order to deal with the flooding that has occurred in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The White House statement reads:

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Vermont and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene beginning on August 26, 2011, and continuing.

The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the State of Vermont.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Craig A. Gilbert as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

There was heavy damage to the state’s infrastructure with numerous roads being closed.  The Village of Queeche, near the Queeche Gorge, was heavily damaged with their covered bridge being torn into tatters.  The 150-foot Bartonsville Covered Bridge was also swept away by the Williams River.

We will continue to let people know what is going on as we can.

Referred to in this piece were the Rutland Herald and WCAX (which has photos) as well as various state, local and college sites.

 

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