Vermont capital submerged in floodwaters with dam on verge of capacity
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[July 12, 2023]
By Brian Snyder and Rich McKay
MONTPELIER, Vermont (Reuters) - A dam upstream from the Vermont state
capital was holding at maximum capacity on Tuesday after "catastrophic"
flooding shut down roadways leading out of Montpelier and trapped people
in their homes.
The Wrightsville Dam, which forms a reservoir four miles (6.4 km) north
of Montpelier, neared the point at which a spillway would need to
release water into the North Branch of the Winooski River, city
officials said.
That would aggravate what the National Weather Service has called
"catastrophic" flooding in Montpelier's picturesque downtown district,
where people navigated the submerged streets in canoes and floodwaters
reached the windows of businesses and the tops of vehicles.
The North Branch converges with a second, larger branch of the Winooski
near the Vermont statehouse.
The growing frequency and intensity of severe weather across the United
States is symptomatic of global, human-driven climate change, climate
scientists say.
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While a Northeast state capital is under water, ocean temperatures have
soared to as high as 90 Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) in Florida, Texas is
sizzling under a heat dome, and California is bracing for temperatures
as high as 120 F (49 C) in desert areas this weekend.
Much of the U.S. Northeast including parts of New York, Massachusetts
and Connecticut have already had as much as 8 inches (20 cm) of rain
over the last several days.
"Make no mistake, the devastation and flooding we're experiencing across
Vermont is historic and catastrophic," Vermont Governor Phil Scott said
at a briefing Tuesday.
Montpelier City Manager William Fraser in a Facebook post urged the
city's 8,000 people to be prepared to move to the upper floors of their
homes as highway closures made evacuations difficult or impossible.
Throughout the state, search teams have rescued 117 people from their
homes and cars by swift boat, as officials fielded calls that even more
people were trapped in their homes in remote areas, Mike Cannon, leader
of the state's Urban Search and Rescue operation, told a briefing.
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![](../images/071223PIX/news_g15.jpg)
Residents look over the damage after
flooding from recent rain storms in Montpelier, Vermont, U.S., July
11, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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Vermont officials called the flooding the worst since Hurricane
Irene reached the New England state as a tropical storm in 2011 and
caused about $750 million in damages and seven deaths in the state.
The city's topography - bordered by hills with the downtown in a
valley - increases the potential for flooding, Montpelier City
Council member Conor Casey said.
"My wife and I live right on the river and it's about two feet from
coming in the living room," Casey said. "We're a bit used to it from
Irene, so it's not totally foreign, but I think the scary thing is
that it feels a bit worse so far."
The flood took its toll on the regional economy, with private
forecaster AccuWeather estimating damages and economic loss at $3
billion to $5 billion.
Most of the crops at Boyd Family Farm in Wilmington, Vermont, were
lost in the storm, said Janet Boyd, who owns the 80-year-old
business along with her husband and son at the southern end of the
Green Mountains.
"We lost all the vegetables and only have our blueberries left,"
Boyd said, "all the greens, the tomatoes, the peppers, the garlic."
Joe Miles, 59, owner of the Montpelier-based R.K. Miles Building
Materials, said three of his eight locations in the state were
heavily damaged, with two of them cut off by flooding.
Much of his lumber and plywood inventory was lost to water damage.
"It's awful and tragic, but fortunately no one got hurt," Miles
said. "We'll get through it."
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(Reporting by Brian Snider in Montpelier, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago
and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Additional reporting by Rachel Nostrant
and Daniel Trotta; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Devika
Syamnath, Bill Berkrot and Sandra Maler)
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