'It's Really Troubling When Your Fire Station Is Underwater'

More than 100 rescued in Vermont floods
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 11, 2023 6:26 PM CDT
More Than 100 Rescued in Vermont Floods
People walk across a bridge damaged by flood waters, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Ludlow, Vt.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

More than 100 people have been rescued during severe flooding in Vermont but there have been no reports of death or injuries, authorities say. Michael Cannon, the Vermont urban search and rescue program coordinator, said Tuesday that 117 people and 17 animals have been rescued and more than 60 flooded building and vehicles have been evacuated, NBC reports. "We are performing active rescues as we speak," he said. "We still have reports of people trapped in flooded homes and vehicles."

Assistance has arrived from other states including Connecticut, which sent an urban search and rescue team that has rescued five people and three pets along the swollen Winooski River. which flooded the state capital, Montpelier. Cannon said the rescues included an "extremely high-risk rescue" by a team from New Hampshire. He said they rescued a driver who attempted to go around a barricade, the AP reports. "The car was washed off the roadway almost into the river," he said. The flooding has brought a dam near Montpelier to the edge of overflow.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott says the flooding, caused by a storm that dumped two months of rain on the state in two days, has surpassed levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Longtime Montpelier resident Bryan Pfeiffer tells the AP that he was shocked by the damage he saw when he canoed around the city's downtown. He said the lower levels of most buildings, even the fire station, were flooded. "It's really troubling when your fire station is underwater," he says. Floodwaters are now receding and forecasters say that while more rain is expected on Thursday and Friday, it won't be enough to cause more flooding. (More Vermont stories.)

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