Author: Lisa Lasker
PLAINFIELD, Vt. (AP) — Gov. Phil Scott said Friday it will take days to fully assess the damage from flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, but he said Vermont The state is in a better position to recover quickly after the heartbreaking pain the commonwealth experienced just a year ago from massive flooding, red tape and massive cleanup efforts.
“We can all use what we have learned over the last year to quickly strengthen our response, starting with keeping homes, businesses and communities clean and dry as quickly as possible,” Scott told reporters at a news conference in Berlin.
He praised the resilience of Vermonters who are used to surviving without government help in rural areas, but urged them to take the time to report damage and not be afraid to ask for assistance.
In just a few hours on Wednesday and Thursday, the remnants of Beryl dumped more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain on parts of Vermont, destroying and damaging homes, destroying bridges and cutting off towns. contacts and devastated the state, with some still waiting for aid.
Two people — a motorist in Lyndonville and a man riding an all-terrain vehicle in Peachum — were killed by floodwaters, authorities said.
On Thursday, shocked residents showed up and began cleaning up. Hardest hit were communities in central Vermont, along the hilly corridor of the Winooski River and its tributaries, and in northern areas of the state.
The Vermont Department of Transportation will release nearly $30 million in town highway payments by early August, half of which will be released next week, to help communities repair washed-out highways, Secretary Joe Flynn said. of roads, bridges and culverts. He said the state has reopened all but 18 of 54 state highways that were closed due to flooding or storm debris.
Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison on Thursday urged people to take advantage of the sunny weather over the next few days to clean up as much as possible and move soaked carpets and furniture outside to dry to reduce the chance of mold.
When speaking with Vermont residents not directly affected, she urged them to volunteer through state programs or “roll up your sleeves, pick up a shovel, and help your neighbors.”
Owen Bradley, who lives near the water source of the hard-hit Great Brook Winooski River in Plainfield, was helping clean up Thursday with the help of relatives Work. He described how the raging water developed into a torrent that washed away the back of his historic brick home.
“It started with a slight noise, the sound of wood cracking. Eventually, it became absolutely terrifying, like a dragon roaring. It was so otherworldly,” Bradley said.
Elsewhere in Plainfield, a concrete bridge that collapsed and tumbled downstream likely ripped apart part of a five-unit apartment building, said Michael Billingsley, the town's emergency management director. .
He said the occupants of another house were pulled to safety from a window before being swept downstream, while a mobile home floated away, with one family's four pets narrowly escaping.
A similar story unfolded in Vermont, where the state's rapids rescue teams alone rescued about 120 residents. Local emergency crews rescued more people, officials said.
Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday nearly 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) away in Texas, leaving millions without power in the Houston area. Eleven people died in the area. But it wasn't finished. The storm moved across the interior of the United States as a posttropical cyclone, bringing flooding and some tornadoes from the Great Lakes to northern New England and Canada.
The storm spawned seven tornadoes that struck western New York on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Flash flooding also caused road closures in several communities in upstate New Hampshire and upstate New York.
Although Vermont is not a coastal state, it has been hit by tropical weather systems before. In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene dropped 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain on parts of Vermont in 24 hours. bridges and 500 miles (800 km) of land.
Vermont officials said Friday that the state updated requirements for culverts and bridges in the wake of Hurricane Irene to account for the possibility of more dangerous storms due to climate change, and that none of the bridges washed away in recent flooding were in compliance. Rebuilt to a higher standard.
In May, Vermont became the first state to enact a law requiring fossil fuel companies to shoulder a portion of the losses caused by extreme weather caused by climate change. But officials acknowledged Friday that raising funds will depend on litigation against the more resource-rich oil industry.
Bradley needed no more convincing on the effects of global warming after surveying the damage caused by two consecutive floods in Plainfield.
“This is what climate change looked like until the floods a year ago,” he said. “Same day, one year apart.”
Lindsey Kuhl, secretary of the Department of Business and Community Development, said Vermonters should at least be able to rely on each other and ask for help.
She asked business owners who suffered losses last year but were spared this time to remember the relief they felt when help arrived at their doorsteps and to consider reaching out now.
“Getting out there, grabbing a shovel, putting on your mud boots and helping people clean up is an uplifting and inspiring help for all of us,” she said.
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Associated Press writers David Sharp in Maine, Holly Larmer in New Hampshire, Seth Borenstein in Washington and Stephanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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