Vermont has been DESTROYED by hurricane Irene

It's more about the topography and how much rain they got in such a short period of time than it is about how things are built to what code. This was a rainstorm more than it was ever a windstorm.....(in VT, NH ME & upstate NY) Definitely harsher, more merciless flooding than in hurricane "prepared" coastal areas here. Stuff gets soaked and submerged but not all the pummeling washed away completely stuff except at immediate coast maybe...not that it wasn't a big inconvenient mess for tons of folks. Damn sure didn't have every road in the state except 2 with flood damage to it. Prayers for all effected in all states Irene visited.

 

True, but I would think Delaware, NJ, PA, NY, Connecticut are all equally as unprepared for hurricanes and they all got hit first but seem to have been less devastated.

 

I'm in NW Cnnecticut, we got hit by alot of wind. Still have roads closed. Most Flooding has subsided except the rivers fed by VT. Many trees down and lots of ppl without power.
I was just up in VT a couple weeks ago and have family up there. My thoughts go out to those in need. Hope the power comes back before he nights get real cold.

 

Here in VT, we are all hills, mountains and valleys. When the water hits this hard it all comes rolling down those hills and there is nowhere for it all to go, and so we get flooded.

 

Makes sense, hopefully they can get the infrastructure back together up there relatively quick and get people back on their feet.

 

yea the flooding is the most dangerous of all in my opinion. ive seen small quiet creeks turn into raging rivers in small amount of time. been trapped on a few islands before because we wasnt paying attention to it.

 

wow! saw some of this on the news.didn't think it was that widespread. don't usually associate vermont with hurricanes. best of luck.

 

Prayers go out to all.
Anyone heard from Simon's Mom? (Judy) Is she and her family ok?

 

X2 on the prayers. Been wondering if she and her family were ok, too

Hope they can get the roads fixed and the power back on quickly for the folks up there...

 

dam that sucks.... at least she is okay. and at least there arent many deaths

 

Aw you guys/gals are great. My family and I are ok now.
My 76 yr old mom had to be evacuated from our 100 yr old family house in Rutland.
It suffered damage from the flash flood. It sucked for I went down there Saturday to prepare her place & left Sat. night thinking how bad is a hurricane gonna be? Pretty bad. More on that later. Why did it get bad you ask?

It got bad because Irene stalled and got stuck in our Mountains swirling around. That sent heavy rains into our dams, rivers & streams & filled the ground that already had been compromised from an unusual heavy snowfall & a wet, flooding Spring. Most of our dams are earthly dams. Not concrete with gates. We also do not have much flat real estate, there is lots of ledge, moutain formations and no ocean to drain into.

It was a receipe for diaster with all conditions being met with the path Irene took.
A convergence of weather systems from the North and South.

To put it simply and as Aerocooper pointed out:
Rock ledge pointed downhill makes water run really fast.

Road and bridge infrastructure is old and weakened. Plus towns hit are historic. Nice to look at but do not bring appropriate $$ year round to promote the improvements needed or have large emergency/police support.
It is too expensive. These communities are blue collar, farmers & loggers, laborers. Lower to middle class folks. Rutland and Bennington areas already hurt economically for no jobs or industry base. Other issues are most power, commo goes out because most everything is aerial. Wireless has a hard time here for there is mountains and minimal towers due to restrictions. It is not flat so you cannot float a boat in to rescue people.

There were so many communities cut off from everything. No way in or out. 225+ roads washed away. We are a little, landlocked State with only 2 Interstates, 89, 91. The rest is two lane state highways Rt 4, 9 & 7 being major truck routes. All 3 had sections wash completely away. So getting supplies and/or medical attention in and out effects a lot of the State in a major way. It's not happening unless you take the long way around.
You really can't get there from here.

Back to my mom's story:
Once roadways were compromised, I was stuck in N. Vermont near Lake Champlain. We got lots of wind & rain where I live in the NW corner of the state, but then my Mom called me crying. It was awful.
She was so upset, I thought she was going to have a heart attack and she didn't want to leave. It is my Dad (her high school sweetheart one and only ) birth house. He passed 15 yrs ago & she still hold him close to her heart. She would rather die in that place than evacuate. Luckily my sister convinced her to go. It literally went from lots of rain to flash flood at her place. She said it was unbelievable how quickly it hit. I went down on Monday and helped her and the neighbors pump out, dig out, clean up their basements. She is back at home. Others will not be so lucky I am afraid.

Right now, I am back at work with my State Military Dept job for the VT Guard. They are bringing in more helicopters because you cannot get to so many places. Chinooks are flying in along with Guard choppers from IL for our ARNG Blackhawks are deployed with the ATC in Iraq. Our Air Guard flies F16s not supply planes. Things are getting better though.
Hydro One in Canada is sending many trucks to restore power & commo. Recovery ops is in full swing.

I hope all affected by Irene in all the communities are able to recover & thanks to everyone for their concern & checking in with me.

Also
Bartonsville Covered Bridge is not in Barton.
Bartonsville is near Rockingham.
Barton is in Orleans County up near Newport just south of the Canadien border. Rockingham is in the S. near Mass.

 

Great to hear from you Judy! Stay safe!

 

Man I feel for everyone up there. We didn't see anything here. TW meet in Vermont to wheel in supplies??

 

To give you some ideal of the magnitude of the VT flooding I live in western Maine we got 4.5" of rain VT got 11"+ The area in VT that was hit so hard is mountains and river valleys. My land is on the Saco river in Maine the river is flooded 2 miles wide with 4.5"of rain I have 35 acres of land under water this is not unusual it happens ever spring but with 11" of rain coming out of the mountains the rivers fill up in a heart beat that's equal to an entire winters snow melt in a matter of a few hours. I have family in VT and I'm going over to help, in my past life I was a heavy equipment operator so there is plenty of work for me to do.

 

Ah well, I tried. I'm originally from NH, so I've never heard of Barton or Bartonsville before this week.

And I suppose that technically, Bartonsville bridge is not in Bartonsville either, as of Sunday.

Glad you're ok.

 

thank you.

Thanks Keith!

Yeah come on up, there is plenty of rocks & trails for a good workout. Bring shovels too

x100

Glad you are ok. I love Western Maine. Probably will have to register my sled there this year.

It is all good. I am glad you are ok too. Your pics captured the scene pretty well.
I think tigerfan had a friend there and didn't want him to think the town washed away.
And yes you are so right, the Bartonsville Covered Bridge is long gone now. Probably in Boston Harbor.

 

My parents just got their power back today. (East Wallingford)