Posted on 08/29/2011 6:14:04 PM PDT by Palter
Almost a dozen New England towns were rendered virtual islands Monday as floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Irene reshaped parts of Vermont and upstate New York, turning placid rivers into raging torrents and some streets into treacherous mud bogs.
Hundreds of roads remained closed, dozens of bridges were gone and entire towns were cut off from assistance in the worst flooding some areas have seen in a century.
A day earlier, Irene dumped up to 11 inches on parts of Vermont and more than 13 inches on some areas of New York — a deluge that quickly overwhelmed waterways, storm sewers and drainage systems. At one point, the floodwaters were rising so fast that Vermont officials feared they might have to take the extraordinary step of flooding the state capital of Montpelier to relieve pressure on a dam.
"We prepared for the worst and we got the worst in central and southern Vermont," Gov. Peter Shumlin said. "It's just devastating — whole communities under water. ... We're tough folks here in Vermont, but Irene really ... hit us hard."
The destruction was etched across the landscape: highways washed out by fast-moving water, bridges and homes crumpled into heaps of broken planks and streets filled with mud thick enough to stop heavy duty vehicles in their tracks.
The images were much the same in upstate New York, where buildings that had withstood a century of hard winters and spring floods were carried away. The floodwaters upended cars and trucks and sent trees tumbling down rivers like matchsticks.
"We were expecting heavy rains," said Bobbi-Jean Jeun of Clarksville, a rural hamlet near Albany. "We were expecting flooding. We weren't expecting devastation."
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Well, we had that a fews years back with Allison...little ole’ tropical storm that dropped 37 inches of rain in Houston, TX. That little gal took out hospitals in the medical center, trapped people on their homes etc...she created one heck of a problem for Houston, TX.
The land is being returned to it’s rightful owner- mother nature. The Leftists of VT should celebrate! After all, mother nature is more effective than implementing agenda 21, and population control.
Flood Control in Vermont and northern NY State?
Are you crazy?
What the H__ is Flood Control?
We don` need no flood control!
We don want no stinkin Flood Control!
Irene is the best way to get new topsoil every 100 years.
That`s why Vermont has more cows than people and fewer covered bridges.
Isn’t it moonlight in Vermont now?
“People pooh poohing this storm are being delusional”
Yes, they are.
I am not in Vermont, I live in Maine, but there was plenty of damage here, too.
Vermont is going to be reeling from this for quite a long time..
My heart goes out to them.
Not me - I've been there. The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin did this to my town in 2007:
I had two feet of water in my office when the river stopped rising. There is no more helpless feeling than listening to the rain comes in torrents for hours on end.
I'll be praying for you and sending the Salvation Army some money to help. Good luck and God bless.
I just believe that the “important” people in NYC or Wash.DC didn’t get hit too hard.. therefore, its “overyhyped”....everybody else’s plight apparently means squat....
Yeah, because we all know thunderstorms split islands into three pieces, cause once in a century floods, and 7 Billion dollars in damage.
YEP!!! ITZ ALLZ DA CONSPIWACY!!!! DA ILLUMINATIZ!!! LIZArD PeOpLeZ and CAbAlS!!!! OH NOEZZ!!!! THEY ARE HEREZ!!! ITZ A GIANTZ CONSPIWACY!!!!
Oh brother....you Katrina people are such spoiled brats. You get all the attention and then complain when another state had an incident. Louisiana is one of the worst states in the nation and you prove it everyday. Most can’t read down there because your education sucks. You cry all day long about Katrina three years later. Grow up. Plus you complaining about people posting to Free Republic and were part of the hurricane is just plain ignorant because cell phones allow for posting quick things on the internet....but since Louisiana is a very poor stupid state, I forgive your ignorance.
I guess Route 12 in your blue state did not fall apart. Glad it was only a rain storm....I guess the people who died were glad it was only a rain storm. Do you even believe the crap you write?
Vermont had a machine tool and precision manufacturing base until the 80's. Now its only know for its maple syrup and lesbians.
Thanks, Tony, especially for the prayers.
In 2005, we had a steady heavy rain for 8 days in a row. A dam burst, and the town of Keene, about 12 miles away, had three feet of water on the main street. Businesses were wiped out, residences destroyed. People’s houses in the path of the water were swept away, some with people in them. Bridges collapsed, some with cars on them. Some of the people swept away were never found.
Our road had a gap about 12 feet wide and 4 feet deep cutting across it. We had no way out, other than walking to our nearest neighbor, about half a mile away.
Oh yeah, it was nothing. I’m just whining.
I kept seeing others quickly discrediting this event, saying it was overblown, and over reported etc...Yet I just read it killed nearly 40 people, even with plenty of warning, billions in damage etc....
Days ago it seemed this hurricane was being made into a political tug of war.
Very odd.
I’m familiar with the cynicism, but don’t perceive it as apathy for the beleaguered.
While it is indeed foolish to ignore cataclysmic warnings, we shouldn’t underestimate the factions that have an appetite for mass control and manipulation.
> All of this stuff that needs to be taken care of. Your 9
> kids you mentioned and all those farm animals. There’s
> nothing else to do right now besides posting on an internet
> forum? Glad you have your priorities straight.
I’m a software engineer. I make my living over the internet. I get to respond to trolls like you while I’m waiting for builds to complete. It’s a form of entertainment, like whistling while you work, only quieter.
And what do you do on the internet besides look for people to annoy?
Awesome!! Not even a Hurricane with torrential downpours and flooding can stop a farmer with 9 kids and many goats and sheep from earning his living off the internet. God Bless America.
Westbrook -
I’m just next door in central New Hampshire. You don’t have a well for water? A generator for the times when the snow shuts off power for long periods of time? You don’t stock up on food for those events?
You’re whining. You grasping for sympathy like a 22 year old girl who wants attention. You want to be a part of the Katrina crowd? Sounds like it.
I lived 20 years in New Orleans and 4 years in Pensacola and passed through many hurricanes and lesser storms there. Irene was much ado about nothing.
I got used to the snow storms after moving here and living in a rural town that has power outages often. Get over it and suck it up. Next time you hear about a ‘line of heavy thunderstorms’ moving through the South, you’ll know what it means.
Your posts have just got to be the most ignorant I’ve seen. When I start reading them, I look at the poster name and say ‘here we go again.’
Might I suggest an editor review your posts? Remember that line, ‘better to keep quiet than open your mouth and let everyone know you’re an idiot?’
BTW - Bless your heart!
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