Vermont flood map: Flooding devastation captured in drone footage amid race to rescue dozens of stranded citizens - The Independent

Vermont flood map: Flooding devastation captured in drone footage amid race to rescue dozens of stranded citizens | The Independent

Vermont flooding devastation captured by drone as Bernie Sanders calls it ‘worst disaster since 1927’ - live

President Joe Biden declares emergency in Vermont

Louise Boyle,
Stuti Mishra Comments

Vermont is beginning the long and gruelling clean-up from severe flooding this week which is so catastrophic that it can be seen from space.

And it wasn’t alone: other Northeastern states were facing their own expensive recoveries from major, slow-moving storms which dumped months-worth of rain in parts of the region over a few days.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared it a “1-in-1,000-year weather event” caused by the climate crisis. A woman died in New York after she was swept away while trying to escape her home with her dog.

Some 117 rescues were made in Vermont. The towns of Londonderry and Weston, Vermont remained largely inaccessible on Wednesday as swift water rescue teams were drafted in.

In the state capital, Montpelier, a dam on the city’s outskirts appeared to have stabilized after it came dangerously close to breaching. “It looks like it won’t breach... That is one less thing we have to have on our front burner,” Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser said.

Public officials warned drivers to monitor road closures and avoid traversing water-covered roadways. With more rainfall expected from Thursday across New England, there may be additional road closures, New England Compass said.
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Watch: Vermont Governor Phil Scott calls flooding 'historic' and vows to clean up damage
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The town of Ludlow counts its losses

“We sustained catastrophic damage. We just really took the brunt of the storm,” Ludlow Municipal Manager Brendan McNamara told The Associated Press on Tuesday, as he assessed the flood’s impact around the town of 1,500 people.

Among the losses was the town’s water treatment plant. Its main supermarket remained closed. The main roadway through town had yet to be fully reopened and McNamara couldn’t begin to estimate how many houses had been damaged.

The town’s Little League field and a new skate park were destroyed, and scores of businesses were damaged.

People walk across a bridge damaged by flood waters, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Ludlow

“Thankfully we got through it with no loss of life,” McNamara said. “Ludlow will be fine. People are coming together and taking care of each other.”

Colleen Dooley returned to her condominium complex in Ludlow on Tuesday to find the grounds covered in silt and mud and the pool filled with muddy river water.

“I don’t know when we’ll move back, but it will certainly be awhile,” said Dooley, a retired teacher.
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What is making South Asian monsoons more deadly?

Torrential downpours this week have led to the deaths of 100 people and unleashed havoc in northern India. Officials have described it as the worst monsoon the country has experienced in decades, writes Stuti Mishra.

The country’s deadly monsoon comes as countries the world over grapple with similar extreme weather.

The northeastern US experienced historic downpours this week, China evacuated thousands of people from flooding and landslides, and Japanese officials reported the “heaviest rain ever experienced”. Scientists say the climate crisis is playing a significant role in the intensification of such extreme weather - here’s how.

As rains kill more than 100 in India, what makes south Asia’s monsoons more deadly?

India’s deadly monsoon is due to a unique alignment in weather systems, but experts reveal there to be a familiar reason behind it all
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The Southwest is baking in prolonged 100-degree heat

Even Southwestern desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of an extreme heat wave smacking Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California this week with 100-degree-plus temps and excessive heat warnings.

To add insult to injury, the region has been left high and dry with no monsoon activity, which can help offset the blazing temperatures. In Arizona, the monsoon season officially begins June 15 and can bring powerful storms with high winds, lightning and heavy bursts of rain.

The heat has made parts of Phoenix feel like a ghost town. Sunset concerts were canceled, and covered restaurant patios equipped with cooling misters sit empty. (AP)

Warnings about extreme temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, on 10 July 2023
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Pictured: The clean-up in Vermont

Simon Jennings, of Montpelier, Vt., removes mid-20th century mannequins from the flood-damaged antique, art, and furnishing store

Juliana Jennings, of Montpelier, Vt., removes a wet Persian rug from the flood-damaged antique, art, and furnishing store J. Langdon she shares with her husband, in downtown Montpelier, Vermont
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Watch: Senator Bernie Sanders shares update on flooding to fellow Vermont citizens
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‘The whole house was just shaking'

Vermonters were beginning to share harrowing stories of narrow escapes amid the extreme flooding.

Jeane Wolfe and Jerry Williams told The Vermont Digger, that it sounded like a waterfall rushing into their basement in the early hours of Tuesday.

“The whole house was just shaking,” Ms Wolfe told the local newspaper. “We knew that we had to leave.”

They were eventually able to evacuate with help from a rescue crew, and made it to a temporary shelter.
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Watch: Water cascades down rocks close to Bear Mountain Bridge after storm lashes New York state
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‘All hands on deck’: Vermont officials give update

Officials in Vermont gave an update on Wednesday amid extreme flooding as Governor Phil Scott described it as an “all hands on deck” response.

Local water rescue teams were overwhelmed with demand so additional swift response teams had been drafted in from North Carolina, while an additional Massachusetts team was on the way.
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Governor gives update on Vermont flooding

Vermont Governor Phil Scott said that floodwaters had surpassed levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Irene killed six people, washed homes off their foundations and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles of highway.

The flooding has already caused tens of millions of dollars in damage throughout the state.

There have been no reports of injuries or deaths related to the flooding in Vermont, where swift-water rescue teams aided by National Guard helicopter crews performed more than 100 rescues, Vermont Emergency Management said.

The Associated Press