A second person has died in Vermont flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials say - The Boston Globe (2024)

Another man, identified as Dylan Kempton, 33, was riding an all-terrain vehicle late Wednesday when it was swept away by floodwaters in Peacham, Vermont State Police said in a statement. His body was recovered Thursday morning.

The remnants of Hurricane Beryl dumped heavy rain on Vermont, washing away much of 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.

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More than 100 people were rescued by swift-water teams during the worst of the rainfall, which started Wednesday and continued into Thursday, officials said. In Plainfield, residents of a six-unit apartment building had mere minutes to evacuate before water destroyed it, the town’s emergency management director said.

Stunned residents emerged Thursday to assess damage in a series of small towns along a hilly corridor on the Winooski River, connected mostly by U.S. Highway 2. Parts of the artery were closed, along with dozens of other roads. Shelters opened in several communities.

“It’s just mud everywhere,” said Art Edelstein, who assessed the destruction at a home he has owned for 50 years in Plainfield. “This is, in my impression, catastrophic. I’ve just never seen anything like this.”

A second person has died in Vermont flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials say - The Boston Globe (1)

The deluge dropped more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain on parts of Vermont, and the heaviest rainfall was in the same areas devastated on July 10, 2023, said Marlon Verasamy, of the National Weather Service in Burlington. Rivers had crested at virtually all locations by late Thursday afternoon.

“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,” Gov. Phil Scott told reporters.

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The towns hit hardest by Beryl’s rains lie east of the capital, Montpelier, which flooded last year but escaped serious damage this week.

In Plainfield, a concrete bridge that collapsed and tumbled downstream was likely responsible for ripping off part of an apartment building with five units, said Michael Billingsley, the town’s emergency management director.

The occupant of another home was pulled through a window to safety moments before it was swept downstream, and a mobile home floated away with four pets belonging to a family that narrowly escaped, he said.

Hilary Conant said she had to flee her apartment as the Great Brook rose, just as she did a year earlier.

“It’s like rewind to last year,” she said. “The water was coming up, so I knew it was time to leave with my dog. It’s very retraumatizing.” A neighbor offered a camper. She and her dog, Casper, sheltered Thursday at Goddard College, which opened dorm rooms to displaced residents.

A second person has died in Vermont flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials say - The Boston Globe (2)

Around the corner from her home was the apartment building that collapsed. The front still stood, but the rest was wrecked or gone. “It’s otherworldly,” she said. “It’s devastating.”

In small Moretown, the ruin appeared worse than a year ago, and the school was once again damaged, said Tom Martin, chair of the town board. Workers hoped to install a temporary bridge Thursday to restore the main road access to town.

“They say we’re ‘Vermont strong.’ We’ll get through it,” Martin said.

A police cruiser crashed down a 30-foot (9.1-meter) embankment Wednesday night when the officer tried to avoid a utility pole and power lines blocking the road in Monkton, south of Burlington. The officer was not seriously injured, state police said.

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Beryl, blamed for at least nine U.S. deaths and 11 in the Caribbean, landed in Texas on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and left millions in the Houston area without power. It then cut 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.

Six tornadoes hit western New York on Wednesday, damaging homes and barns and uprooting trees, the weather service said. Some areas of the 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.

Resilience efforts appeared to pay off in Vermont. 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.

But the damage — coming as some residents still await federal disaster-assistance checks from the floods a year ago — was still a bitter pill to swallow.

“It’s tough to watch folks in your community suffer and go through this again,” said Thom Lauzon, the mayor of hard-hit Barre.

A second person has died in Vermont flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials say - The Boston Globe (3)

Even though Vermont is not a coastal state, it 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.

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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 fanned 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 a need.

“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.”

Associated Press writers David Sharp in Maine, Holly Ramer in New Hampshire, and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.

A second person has died in Vermont flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials say - The Boston Globe (2024)

FAQs

A second person has died in Vermont flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s remnants, officials say - The Boston Globe? ›

(AP) — A second person has died in Vermont in the flooding from Hurricane Beryl's remnants, officials said Thursday. John Rice, 73, died when he drove his vehicle through a flooded street Thursday morning in Lyndonville, police Chief Jack Harris said.

Did hurricane Beryl hit Vermont? ›

Beryl's remnants dumped more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain in just a few hours Wednesday and Thursday on parts of Vermont, destroying and damaging homes, knocking out bridges, cutting off towns and retraumatizing a state where some people are still awaiting assistance from the last catastrophic floods that hit ...

What were the damages of Irene in Vermont? ›

Some people lost their lives in the storm. The damages cost about $850 million to fix. This was a very difficult time in Vermont's history. During the storm, high water washed away pavement and broke apart bridges.

How much rain fell in Vermont during Irene? ›

But while winds and storm surge make hurricanes so telegenic, what made this one so destructive was rain. Irene dumped as much as 11 inches of rain on parts of Vermont, and caused $733 million in damage.

Why was Hurricane Irene so bad? ›

Irene's main impact was from rainfall. Catastrophic floods occurred in New York and New England, especially in central and southern Vermont and New Hampshire. These rains caused devastating flash flooding across many mountain valleys with some record breaking flood stages on larger rivers.

Where was the worst hurricane recorded? ›

The Galveston Hurricane of August 1900 was the deadliest hurricane in United States history, according to NOAA, causing tremendous destruction and loss of life. An estimated 8,000 to 12,000 people died in the storm, making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

Has there ever been a surprise hurricane? ›

It was in the dead of summer along the upper Texas coast. The nation was rightfully preoccupied with the events of the Second World War. All news underwent censorship.

What was the worst flood in Vermont history? ›

The historic flooding of Tropical Storm Irene brought additional devastation to the state in August 2011, but given the massive extent of damage, the flood of 1927 still stands as the worst natural disaster in Vermont history.

What is causing flooding in Vermont? ›

As powerful floods swept through Vermont and Maine in 2023 and early 2024, they left communities struggling to cope and highlighted the increasing risks posed by climate change. Record rainfall caused rivers to surge, inundating towns, damaging infrastructure, crippling transportation networks, and forcing evacuations.

Has Vermont ever had a hurricane? ›

The first was in 1635 and the second in 1815. There were many other hurricanes in New England before that. But we don't have records of storms pre-European contact. The 1938 hurricane caused damage in Vermont and every other New England state.

What is the wettest month in Vermont? ›

Burlington Climate Graph - Vermont Climate Chart
MonthPrecipitationHigh
Jun3.6976
Jul4.1681
Aug3.9179
Sep3.6470
8 more rows

What is the deepest snowfall in Vermont? ›

Where was the most snow in Vermont? Windsor County had some of the most impressive snowfall totals with a dozen towns receiving 2 feet or more of snow. The highest recording was Windsor with 33.1 inches.

What is the most rainy day ever recorded? ›

The biggest rainfall in a day occurred with the passage of Cyclone Denise in Foc-Foc, La Réunion, an island in the southern Indian Ocean. Some 1.825 meters (71.8 inches) of rain fell over 24 hours, from January 7 to 8, 1966.

Which hurricane was worse, Irene or Sandy? ›

In contrast, and although Hurricane Sandy was similarly scaled in wind speed and size to Irene, ultimately it was much more impactful further north to New York and New Jersey primarily because of the storm track it took and the orientation of the shoreline where the storm made landfall.

Has New York ever been hit by a hurricane? ›

In New York, Hurricane Irene resulted in $296 million in damage and 10 deaths. Irene is one of the costliest storms in New York history, second only to Hurricane Agnes that hit New York in 1972.

Did Hurricane Irene hit Vermont? ›

On August 28, 2011 Tropical Storm Irene brought torrential rain and historic flooding to Vermont. The storm stranded thousands behind washed out roads, destroyed dozens of homes, and. The below stories represent the entirity of VPR's ongoing coverage of the storm that changed the landscape of Vermont.

Do hurricanes affect Vermont? ›

Hurricanes/Tropical Storms: the most significant impacts from hurricanes/tropical storms in Vermont are inundation flooding and fluvial erosion (see: Inundation Flooding & Fluvial Erosion).

Did Hurricane Irene hit upstate NY? ›

Irene also did significant damage in the Adirondack Mountains, farther upstate. A section of NY 73 was washed out, isolating the hamlets of Keene and St. Huberts in the High Peaks region of Essex County.

Where did the Great New England hurricane hit? ›

The storm hit Long Island and Southern Connecticut on September 21, moving at a forward speed of 47 mph! Sustained hurricane force winds were felt across central and eastern Long Island and southeastern Connecticut.

What year was the hurricane that wiped out Homestead Florida? ›

Hurricane Andrew at the time was the costliest disaster in Florida, as well as the then-costliest on record in the United States. Hurricane Andrew formed from a tropical wave on August 16, 1992, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved west-northwest and remained weak for several days due to strong wind shear.

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