Similar scenes played out in neighboring Barre and in Bridgewater, where the Ottauquechee River burst its banks.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said flooding exceeded levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene. Irene killed six people in Vermont in August 2011dragging houses from their foundations and damaging or destroying more than 200 bridges and 500 miles of highway.
The flooding has already caused tens of millions of dollars in damage across the state. There have been no reports of flood-related injuries or deaths in Vermont, where swiftwater rescue teams aided by National Guard helicopter crews performed more than 100 rescues, Vermont Emergency Management said Tuesday.
One of the hardest hit places was New York’s Hudson Valley, where a woman identified by police as 43-year-old Pamela Nugent died while trying to escape her flooded home with her dog in the village of Fort Montgomery.
Atmospheric scientists say destructive flooding is occurring more frequently as storms form in a warmer atmosphere, and rising temperatures on the planet will only make matters worse.
In Vermont, more rain was forecast for Thursday and Friday, but Peter Banacos, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the state will be spared more torrential downpours.
Much of the focus has been on reopening roads, reining in isolated homeowners, and clearing mud and debris from waterlogged businesses.
“We suffered catastrophic damage. We really did bear the brunt of the storm,” Ludlow City Manager Brendan McNamara said as he assessed the impact of the flooding on the city of 1,500.
Among the losses was the town’s water treatment plant. Its main supermarket remained closed. The main road through town had not yet been fully reopened and McNamara couldn’t begin to estimate how many houses had been damaged. The city’s Little League field and a new skate park were destroyed and dozens of businesses were damaged.
“Luckily we got through it without loss of life,” McNamara said. “Ludlow will be fine. People come together and take care of each other.”
Colleen Dooley returned to her Ludlow condo complex 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 be back, but it will certainly be for a while,” said Dooley, a retired teacher.
President Joe Biden, who attended the annual NATO summit in Lithuania, declared an emergency for Vermont and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance.
