PLAINFIELD, Vt. (AP) — The remnants of Hurricane Beryl dumped heavy rain on Vermont, washing away an apartment building, knocking out bridges and cutting off towns, and retraumatizing a state still recovering from catastrophic floods that hit a year ago to the day. At least one person died.
More than 100 people had to be rescued from rushing waters from rains that started Wednesday and continued into Thursday, officials said. Some communities were ordered to evacuate. Roads flooded, washed out or were covered with debris.
In Plainfield, residents of a six-unit apartment building had only 15 minutes to evacuate before the entire structure was swept away by floodwaters that also took out at least seven bridges and left many roads impassable and people stranded, said town Emergency Management Director Michael Billingsley. One car was swept away, but the occupant escaped, he said.
“It’s not lost on any of us the irony of the flood falling on the one-year anniversary to the day when many towns were hit last year. I know that only adds to the emotion many are feeling this morning,” Gov. Phil Scott told reporters Thursday, adding that the state’s “response and tools are only stronger” as a result of the tragedy a year ago.
The death came in the community of Peacham, where floodwaters swept away a man in a vehicle, officials said.
Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison urged people to continue to take precautions in coming days, including staying away from fast-moving water filled with “a tremendous amount of flood debris.”
The deluge dropped more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain on parts of Vermont, and the heaviest rainfall was in areas hit hard a year ago, said Marlon Verasamy, of the National Weather Service in Burlington. But the damage was not as widespread across the entire state as it was a year ago, he said.
Hilary Conant, who fled her second-floor Plainfield apartment, said she also had to flee rising waters last year.
“The water was coming up, so I knew it was time to leave with my dog. It’s very retraumatizing,” she said. A neighbor offered a camper to temporarily house her.
Art Edelstein assessed the destruction Thursday morning around a home he has owned for 50 years and now rents to tenants.
“I don’t even know how much water came from where because it’s just mud everywhere,” he said. “This is, in my impression, catastrophic. I’ve just never seen anything like this.”
In the small community of Moretown, the damage appeared worse than it was a year ago, and the school was among buildings once again damaged by floodwaters, said Tom Martin, chair of the town board. Workers hoped to install a temporary bridge Thursday on the main artery that provides access to the community, he said.
“They say we’re Vermont strong. We’ll get through it,” said Martin, his voice full of emotion.
Beryl landed in Texas on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and left millions in the Houston area without power. It then carved a path across the interior U.S. as a post-tropical cyclone that brought flooding and sometimes tornadoes from the Great Lakes to Canada and northern New England. It has been blamed for at least eight U.S. deaths and 11 in the Caribbean.
Three tornadoes hit western New York on Wednesday, damaging homes and barns and uprooting trees, the weather service said. Some areas of New York state got 4 or more inches (10 or more centimeters) of rain, causing water to rush down streets in the village of Lowville.
Flash flooding also closed roads in several northern New Hampshire communities, including Monroe, Dalton, Lancaster and Littleton, where officials said 20 people were temporarily stranded at a Walmart store and crews made water rescues.
Parts of northern New York and New England, including Vermont, remained under flood watches or warnings on Thursday. Thunderstorms associated with Beryl were forecast for much of the East Coast through Friday, forecasters said.
In Vermont, emergency managers had urged residents Wednesday to seek higher ground if floodwaters approached and said rescue teams and the National Guard were at the ready.
Resilience efforts appeared pay off. Flood control dams were “performing phenomenally” other than the breach of one dam with minimal impact to property or roads, said Jason Batchelder, state environmental commissioner.
Emily Hawes, state mental health commissioner, urged residents to check in on their neighbors, saying the flooding on the anniversary of last year’s tragedy “can be deeply traumatizing.”
“It’s tough to watch folks in your community suffer and go through this again,” said Thom Lauzon, mayor in hard-hit Barre. “As I stand here a bit discouraged, I’m also very proud.”
Even though Vermont is not a coastal state, it nonetheless has experience with tropical weather. Tropical Storm Irene dumped 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain on parts of Vermont in 24 hours in 2011. The storm killed six in the state, washed homes off their foundations, and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles of highway.
In May, Vermont became the first state to enact a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the damage caused by extreme weather fueled by climate change. Scott, a Republican, allowed the bill to become law without his signature, saying he was concerned about the costs of a grueling legal fight. But he acknowledged the need to address the toll of climate change.
“Climate change is real,” Scott said Thursday. “I think we all need to come to grips with that regardless of your political persuasion and deal with it because we need to build back stronger, safer and smarter.”
