Vermont Braces for More Rain After Historic Deluge

Gov. Phil Scott speaking at Thursday’s press conference Credit: File: Kevin McCallum ©️ Seven Days

Gov. Phil Scott and other state officials were preparing for more potential damage as another round of rain took aim at Vermont on Wednesday. The forecast called for downpours across the state, including in some Northeast Kingdom towns that saw as much as eight inches of rain early Tuesday morning.

“With already saturated soil and already damaged infrastructure, this just adds insult to injury,” Scott said at a press conference. “An inch or two of rain in a short period of time could be catastrophic for some.”

National Weather Service meteorologist Seth Kutikoff told Seven Days that the forecast calls for one to two inches across the state. But, he said, localized thunderstorms could pop up and drop heavier amounts, prompting flash flooding. A flood watch is in effect until midnight across Vermont, except for in Bennington and Windham counties.

Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said the state was preparing for inclement weather by stationing swift-water rescue teams in the central and northeastern parts of the state.

“We expect to see sharp rises on rivers and streams, especially in areas that have seen recent rainfall and in areas of steep terrain,” Morrison said.

The state has received more than 110 reports of property damage from Tuesday’s deluge, including six reports of damage to businesses. Preliminary information indicates that the storm destroyed or inflicted major damage to 50 or more homes. Officials urged residents to report damage to the Vermont 211 hotline. Many roads were also washed out as St. Johnsbury recorded an astonishing eight inches of rain over a six-hour period — something meteorologists described as a “1-in-1,000-year” event.

But these historic downpours are happening at an all-too-regular pace for Vermonters. Some communities, Scott noted, have been hit by flooding four different times since July 2023. “It’s simply demoralizing, but we can’t give up,” he said. “We’ve got to stick together and fight back against the feeling of defeat. If there was ever a time when we needed our tight-knit communities to show up, it’s now.”
The latest damage is on top of the flooding that occurred on July 10 and 11. In the aftermath of that storm, the state collected 2,425 reports of residential damage and 270 reports of damage to businesses.

Scott said he thinks the state has a strong case to receive a federal major disaster declaration for the flooding earlier this month. The state plans to send a formal request to President Joe Biden for individual and public assistance in the next couple of days, he said.

In a statement on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said his office, too, would work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get relief to the state “as quickly as possible.”

“I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could tell you that this type of extreme weather is not going to happen again,” Sanders wrote. “But I can’t. It could happen tomorrow, next month, or five years from now. That is a somber reality we’ve got to deal with.
“This is tough stuff that we as a state, nation, and world are going to have to address together and boldly.”