Flash Flooding Leads to Evacuations and Rescues in Central Vermont

Heavy rain late Wednesday and early Thursday caused flash flooding and forced dozens of overnight rescues and evacuations in central Vermont, affecting some of the same towns that were devastated by record rain and flooding a year ago.

One death in the state is believed to have been caused by the extreme weather, Jennifer Morrison, the state’s commissioner of public safety, said at a news conference Thursday morning, though she added that the cause had not been confirmed. The death occurred when a vehicle was swept into floodwater in Peacham, east of Montpelier, she said.

The rainfall, attributed to the passing remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl, totaled as much as 5 or 6 inches in some locations, and was expected to continue on Thursday. The National Weather Service in Burlington predicted “excessive rainfall risk” through 8 a.m. Friday in and around Burlington, Middlebury, Stowe and Montpelier, the state capital, where floodwaters inundated the downtown area on July 10, 2023.

A flood watch was in effect Thursday morning for much of Vermont and northern New York. Two rivers — including the Winooski, downstream from Waterbury — had yet to crest, officials said.

State officials at the news conference said that three bridges had been destroyed by floodwaters and three others damaged, in locations including Norton, Charleston, Morristown and Barnet. The officials stressed that the situation remained dangerous, and urged residents to stay away from rivers, where flood-borne debris continued to pose hazards.

Among the places hardest hit on Thursday was Barre, a city of 8,500 next to Montpelier that was devastated by the two-day storm last summer. Local media outlets reported on Thursday morning that Barre’s Main Street was again underwater.

More than a dozen swift-water rescue teams, including one from New Hampshire and another from Connecticut, made 118 rescues from Wednesday into Thursday, officials said. Rescues were continuing in Lyndonville, northeast of Montpelier.

Mental health counselors were deployed in some communities on Thursday morning to assist residents experiencing trauma, officials said.

“I know last night’s flooding — in many of the very same communities impacted on the same day last year — is devastating for these families, business owners and community members,” Gov. Phil Scott wrote on his Facebook page Thursday morning. “My team, emergency responders and local leaders are working around the clock to help ensure public safety, and we will act as quickly as possible in recovery.”