Flooding conditions 'awful' in Vermont due to Irene's rains

[cali]

By the CNN Wire Staff
August 28, 2011 6:17 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* "Some small towns are entirely covered with water," a state official says
* People are stranded in schools and in cars, with water "pretty much everywhere," he adds
* One man sees decks and propane tanks in fast-moving waters in Brattleboro

(CNN) -- Despite being bordered on all sides by land, Vermonters struggled Sunday with the impacts of Hurricane Irene as fast-moving floods swarmed towns from Brattleboro to Woodstock and beyond.

Mark Bosma, a spokesman for the state's emergency management division, describes conditions as "awful" in many parts of the Green Mountain State with "some small towns ... entirely covered with water."

"There has been steady, heavy rains all day," he said. "We got reports of people stranded at schools and in cars. One woman was swept away in a river. Water is pretty much everywhere."

According to Bosma, there is flooding "everywhere in the southern part of the state," with an expectation that northern parts of Vermont will soon be hit as well.

<snip>

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/28/irene.vermont/

[Waiting For Everyman]

1. K&R Thanks for the article.

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. Yikes! Photos from Wilmington today:

From BradBlog: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8699

[malletgirl02]

4. That is horrible.

I hope people were able to get out before the flood waters came.

[Ruby the Liberal]

5. Apparently one girl was washed away in the flood.

21 years old.

:cry:

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Oh, no! :^( Poor kid! And her poor family!

[jwirr]

9. You can see how fast that water is running - once caught in the middle

of it she would have had a hard time fighting it. Terrible. Glad most people had enough warning to get out.

[October]

3. Yes, crazy here in Southeastern PA, too - Philly and suburbs.

The storm lingered for so long...it just drenched us!

Still drying out our basement... and expecting the Delaware River to reach 3-4 feet above flood level tomorrow. Our little town was evacuated.

Our basement was starting to flood, and I swear to you in doubled in just minutes!!! Otherwise lucky that no trees came down.

[kestrel91316]

7. Where are George Will and his sockpuppets now, whining about overhyping??

[woolldog]

8. Stay safe, cali.

[Ruby the Liberal]

10. More yikes - Video of Brattleboro

http://www.wptz.com/r-video/29006698/detail.html

[TBF]

11. It really annoyed me when folks starting calling Irene "lame" -

because we know down here that wind speed isn't everything. With Tropical Storm Allison and of course with Hurricane Katrina - it was the flooding that was the danger.

Please stay safe Cali.

[Odin2005]

12. But, but, I thought this storm was all hype!!!

:sarcasm:

[Zax2me]

20. Not all. But most.

But it was not surprising that the strength forecasts were off — the accuracy of such forecasts has hardly improved over the past several decades.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/us/29forecast.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. ! Castleton State College in Rutland, VT

[NCarolinawoman]

14. North Carolina has an excellent swift water rescue team that needs to go to that region.

They have rescued 76 people since yesterday. This team was put together after the devastating floods from Hurricane Floyd. While our rivers here are still rising, the scenes in Vermont are begging for immediate action. Maybe our armed forces?

[cali]

15. From the Canadian border to the MA border, Vermont flooded

bridges and buildings washed away. Dozens of downtowns flooded. Barns, crops. What a mess.

[Cal Carpenter]

16. I'm scheduled to drive through Vermont tomorrow along the 9

I think I may have to reconsider my route. I am heading from Michigan to the middle of New Hampshire. I almost always take the 9. Maybe I could veer north to the 4, but I don't know that it would be any better. I suppose I can take interstates across Massachusetts and shoot north into NH.

Sorry, I don't mean to make it about me. Just thinking about it as I hit the road in an hour or so.

This is devastating, I am so sorry Cali and all the other VTers who have to deal with this. Wow. The photos are unreal.

[glowing]

18. Route 9, has major damage. I'm not sure you will get thru.

[Cal Carpenter]

19. yeah, I don't think so either

I think I am going to wait until tomorrow to leave, actually, because hotels along the way are all booked too, in eastern NY where I usually stop for the night (with dogs, which narrows my options).

I also need to re-route the second half of the trip.

Oh man, aside from my minor personal inconvenience which is truly trivial, I really hope everyone is okay and the waters recede soon. The photos and videos I have seen are just devastating.

[laylah]

17. Stay safe, Cali. nt

[Little Star]

21. Makes me so sad Cali! Keep us updated if you can & stay safe. n/t

[cali]

22. Thanks. I'm fine. I live on a hill. but so many peope aren't so lucky and

more flooding is expected today.

[LWolf]

23. I'm sorry to read this. nt