Vermont Inundated as 1-in-1,000-Year Rainfall Event Destroys Homes, Prompts Rescues [View all]

[Think. Again.]

By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
Published: July 31, 2024
Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/vermont-flooding-2024.html

Since Monday night, northeast Vermont has been inundated with heavy rain and flash flooding that washed out roads, damaged buildings and left residents stranded, reported Reuters.

Nearly eight inches of rain fell in only six hours in St. Johnsbury — considered a one in a thousand year event, CNN reported.


The aftermath of flash flooding on Red Village Road in Lyndonville, Vermont on July 30 2024. Danielle Parhizkaran / The Boston Globe via Getty Images

“This is devastating and was completely unexpected. I had no idea this was coming,” said one of the town’s residents Vanessa Allen, as reported by The Associated Press. “It’s just all unbelievable how bad the roads are. We’re trapped. We can’t go anywhere.”

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Peter Banacos, a weather service operations officer, said there had been four flooding events in Vermont in the past year, caused by the mountainous terrain of the state combined with climate change. Banacos said increased rainfall and more frequently saturated soil have made it more susceptible to flooding.

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