Rescues, wrecks and destroyed homes: Vermont braces for more flooding after Hurricane Beryl

Thunderstorms and heavy rain caused another wave of violent flooding Tuesday that washed away roads, wrecked cars, lifted homes off their foundations and prompted boat rescues in northern Vermont, nearly three weeks after flooding from Hurricane Beryl.

Flood warnings remain in effect until Tuesday afternoon hours after some areas received 6 to more than 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) overnight.

In Lyndonville, a town 64 kilometers north of Montpelier, the state capital, Deryck Colburn said he woke up in the early hours of the morning to a neighbor knocking on his door. Colburn said he heard the rush of water from the overflowing creek he heard in early July, as well as the unpleasant sound of falling rocks.

“I went down the road to his house, there was no road. It was just a river,” he said.

The new floods produced similar scenes of disaster to the previous floods, but on a smaller scale. Cars and trucks were smashed and covered in mud; several homes collapsed and were pushed downstream; utility poles and power lines were downed; and the asphalt roads crossed the cliffs in places where the roads had been carved.

Most of the rain falls in Lyndon and Lyndonville, and St. Johnsbury, about 10 miles (16 km) south. Police issued an “evacuate the area” advisory Tuesday morning in St. Johnsbury, a town of about 6,000 people. At least 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain fell as far north as Morgan County, which is near the Canadian border.

Mark Bosma, a spokesman for the Vermont Emergency Management Agency, said swift water rescue teams in boats rescued about two dozen people in the dark in the worst-hit areas late Monday and early Tuesday.

Some neighbors had to rescue them.

In Lyndonville, Jason Pilbin said he awoke around 2:30 a.m. to see rocks flowing down the road, driven by heavy flooding. He went outside with a flashlight and flashlight to help some neighbors get out and then took their vital medications about 20 minutes before the house collapsed. He then woke up another neighbor and helped him out of his house.

Pilbin said he was relieved to be able to help the neighbors this time after watching a man drown in the floods earlier this month. “Unfortunately I couldn’t save him, but I was able to save these people,” said Pilbin. “I think that helps. It was difficult.”

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths from this round of flooding.

In St. Johnsbury, Vanessa Allen said she knew there was a chance of rain, but she wasn’t counting on an excessive amount.

“This is sad and completely unexpected,” he said. “I didn’t know this was coming.”

His house was between two towers, so he couldn’t leave. The roads were marked and littered with debris. Next to it, he said, there was a house that was not on the foundation and blocked the road.

“It looks like it’s apocalyptic. There are huge craters. … And still the water is running down the road,” he said in broad daylight. “It’s unbelievable how bad the roads are. We’re trapped. We’re not going anywhere.”

The state experienced severe flooding in early July from the tail end of Cyclone Beryl. These floods destroyed roads and bridges and flooded farms. It came one year after last year’s devastating floods that hit Vermont and several other states.

Vermont experienced four floods last year, due to a combination of climate change and mountainous weather, said Peter Banacos, the weather service’s chief of science and operations. Heavy rains have made the country and hilly areas prone to flooding, he said.

The state’s soils are also prone to flooding, and that increases the likelihood of flooding, Bancos said.

Vermont’s history of over-exploiting rivers and streams also contributes to increased flooding, said Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. The increase in flooding is “an indication that we have reached our limits of being able to really control the rivers and keep them in place,” he continued.

Roads, bridges, culverts and wastewater services are all at risk, Moore said. The state is in the midst of a 10-year effort to “replace or retool it with consideration for our current and future climate,” Moore said.

Vermont is also working to establish statewide floodplain standards.

In Lyndonville, Colburn said some of his neighbors’ homes and his road were “washed away” during the storm, but passengers were rescued. The emergency management center had no further information.

“The last storm was a wake-up call,” he said of the flooding earlier this month. “I thought I would never see something like that again. I don’t think that holds a candle to this. It’s not even close.”

“A lot of broken hearts,” he added.

-Lisa Rathke, Nick Perry, David Sharp and Kathy McCormack, Associated Press

Reporters Patrick Whittle and Julie Walker also contributed to this story.