ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – Towns in the Northeast Kingdom still reeling from this week’s destructive flash flooding are preparing for another round of potentially damaging storms.
St. Johnsbury saw a historic amount of rain, more than 8 inches in just a few hours. Some parts of town saw big washouts and damage to culverts and infrastructure.
The cleanup is now underway, but the record rainfall that brought on these floods was not expected, and it leaves a question of how Vermont can prepare for storms we can’t see coming.
The Northeast Kingdom is once again cleaning up from a damaging deluge.
Two days on, we’re beginning to get preliminary damage estimates from the floods, but no cost estimate yet.
So far, there are closures on six state highways, two wastewater plants took damage and 50 homes were damaged or destroyed.
“It’s simply demoralizing,” Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont, said at a news briefing on Wednesday.
Unlike last summer’s floods or the storms earlier this month, the torrential rains that caused the flooding popped up and caught the state by surprise. So with storms becoming more damaging and more common, how can Vermonters prepare for storms we can’t predict? State leaders don’t have that answer, but say they are ready to respond quickly.
“It’s because we have dedicated volunteers and career people in these communities that are ready to go the moment they hear the word that the water is rising,” Vt. Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said.
Top law enforcement tells us they rely on local first responders getting eyes on the situation and relaying the message to specialized state resources, like swift-water rescue teams, that then spring into action.
But local officials say this storm caught them by surprise, too.
“This was never a troubled area, this area through here has never overly flooded. We are doing what we can to track it and support our people,” Lyndonville Police Chief Jack Harris said.
But paying for surprise damages remains an open question. Towns hit earlier this month are still waiting on FEMA to reimburse emergency repairs. With state dollars limited and FEMA taking time to reimburse towns, Vermont Chief Recovery Officer Doug Farnham says towns will need more reimbursements.
“It will be important as we go into the legislative session that it’s a serious part of the discussion of how we adapt in the long run,” Farnham said.
And an update on the floods from three weeks ago– FEMA has finished assessing the state, and while they haven’t yet made a determination, the governor says there’s a strong possibility the state will be eligible for both public and individual assistance. There’s no timeline yet on when a major disaster declaration would be issued, though.