Flooding in Vermont, Summer 2023

My hometown Richmond, Vermont as of July 2023. 

Vermont met disaster this summer when it was struck by severe thunderstorms. These thunderstorms reached their peak from July 10th to 11th, with cumulative rain from 3 to 9 inches being measured across the state. The rain was not limited to these two days. The National Weather Service reports that Vermont received more than 20 inches of rain throughout the months of June, July, and August. Some areas received almost 30 inches. This rainfall was the highest the state had seen since 1948, when the NWS began tracking the statistic. 

    The most disastrous outcome of this massive rainfall was extreme and prolonged flooding. A poll from the University of New Hampshire reports that "About one-third of Vermonters were directly impacted by July’s historic flooding events, and 13% experienced damage to their home or place of work" (Duffort). At the time of this poll, almost two months after the rainfall's peak, 63% of Vermonters polled reported that their town had not fully recovered. The damages were sufficient for President Biden to declare the flooding and its damages to housing and infrastructure a major disaster. 

    This terrible flood was not without precedent. Tropical Storm Irene, in 2011, caused similar damages and flooding, albeit not to the same extent. I was not in Vermont this summer to see the flooding firsthand, but do remember the scenes of the flood in 2011. The (small) downtown of my hometown, lowest in elevation and most proximate to the relatively large Winooski River, was almost completely covered in water. People kayaked and canoed down the roads and through the park that were now indistinguishable due to their watery veil. 

    However, the memory and experience of Irene was not a sufficient motive to become better prepared for flooding. Reflecting many of our discussions around earthquake insurance, many Vermonters do not have flood insurance. The premiums are expensive, often prohibitively so, and, even though damages and costs after flooding (not covered by typical homeowners insurance) are crippling for many, it is still difficult for many Vermonters to justify buying flood insurance. Several towns (Brandon, Barre, others) were able to test the infrastructure that they had developed after Irene (most notably larger flood plains and 'trash racks' to catch debris from rivers), to varying levels of success. Other towns (Enosburgh, Barre) found that projects they had been planning, but not building, since Irene needed to be accelerated after such significant damage from yet another flood, only a decade later. 

    The state department and FEMA have offered temporary housing, monetary aid, and other programs to help get the state back on track, but there is still a long way to go. Amidst the onset of winter, Governor Phil Scott is urging people to check to see if their heating systems have been damaged before it is too late and they may face extreme cold or further damage to their homes. Many farmers, too, have not yet received the aid they were promised, and face difficult seasons ahead. Upheaval and failure in the agricultural sector, significant in Vermont's economy, may continue to have detrimental effects for many years. 

    The question remains whether Vermont will be able to bounce back from this summer's flooding and prepare itself better for future storms that are certainly on the horizon. 

References

Cotton, Emma. “A 728-Page State Report Guided Flood Projects in 5 Communities after Tropical Storm Irene. What Worked?” VTDigger, October 5, 2023. https://vtdigger.org/2023/10/05/a-728-page-state-report-guided-flood-projects-in-5-communities-after-tropical-storm-irene-what-worked/. 

Duffort, Lola. “Poll: 13% of Vermonters Reported Flood Damage to Home or Business.” VTDigger, August 29, 2023. https://vtdigger.org/2023/08/29/poll-13-of-vermonters-reported-flood-damage-to-home-or-business/. 

Petenko, Erin. “Central Vermont Has Received More than 20 Inches of Rain This Summer. It’s the Most in 75 Years.” VTDigger, August 31, 2023. https://vtdigger.org/2023/08/31/central-vermont-has-received-more-than-20-inches-of-rain-this-summer-its-the-most-in-75-years/. 

US Department of Commerce, NOAA. “The Great Vermont Flood of 10-11 July 2023: Preliminary Meteorological Summary.” National Weather Service, August 28, 2023. https://www.weather.gov/btv/The-Great-Vermont-Flood-of-10-11-July-2023-Preliminary-Meteorological-Summary#:~:text=Catastrophic%20flash%20flooding%20and%20river,values%20are%20still%20being%20tallied).