Updated at 2:53 p.m.
Rivers swelled, roads were damaged and dozens of people were rescued by boat in Vermont on Monday after more than 4 inches of rain fell overnight in parts of the state — with more expected to come.
The deluge stranded residents in some of the hardest hit towns of Londonderry, Weston and Ludlow. By Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service’s Burlington office was warning that the threat could shift from flash flooding to main-stem river flooding — including along the Winooski River in Montpelier.
The weather service said in an advisory at 1:45 p.m. that it continued to expect 2 to 5 inches of rain across the state through Tuesday — with some areas likely to see 7 inches.
By 11 a.m. Monday, public safety officials had rescued roughly 19 people by boat and evacuated another 25, state urban search and rescue coordinator Mike Cannon said at a Monday morning press conference in Waterbury. He said there was a preliminary report that a person may have been swept away by floodwaters in Londonderry but cautioned that the incident was unconfirmed.
Gov. Phil Scott, who declared a state of emergency Sunday in advance of the rain, said during Monday’s press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in Waterbury that he had spoken with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to request assistance and would soon seek a federal disaster declaration.
“We have not seen rainfall like this since Irene,” Scott said, referring to the tropical storm that inundated Vermont in 2011. “And in some places it will surpass even that.”
Even the building in which Scott spoke, which suffered damage during Tropical Storm Irene, was facing the threat of flooding as the Winooski River advanced into Waterbury.
Throughout the day, the National Weather Service issued flood warnings for the Missisquoi, Winooski and Lamoille rivers, along with the Otter Creek. It also issued a flash flood warning for portions of the Northeast Kingdom and Lamoille and Franklin counties.
Cannon said at the Monday morning press conference that roughly 14 swift water rescue teams were in the field, including two from North Carolina. Another team from Massachusetts was expected to arrive that afternoon.
Vermont Emergency Management spokesperson Mark Bosma said earlier that the teams had performed rescues in Londonderry, Weston, Bridgewater, Andover, Ludlow and elsewhere. He said that local fire departments had carried out many more rescues from homes and other areas where people were trapped.
As of 7:38 a.m., according to the National Weather Service, the greatest accumulations of rain had been observed in Chester (4.78 inches), Mt. Holly (4.47 inches) and Rochester (4.05 inches). Other towns that had seen at least 3 inches at that hour included Berlin, Moretown and Braintree.
The rain led officials to close roads in Jamaica, Weston, Winhall, Ludlow, Mt. Holly, Roxbury, Shrewsbury, Middlesex and Northfield, according to the Agency of Transportation, Vermont State Police and the weather service.
The National Weather Service said at 9:14 a.m. that the Winooski River was in danger of flooding in Moretown, Montpelier, Waterbury and Essex Junction. As of that hour, the Winooski had reached 417.4 feet.
At 419 feet, it was expected to flood fields from Waterbury through Richmond. At 421 feet, it would reach parking lots at the Waterbury State Office complex and Rowe Field in Waterbury — as well as Bridge Street and Volunteers Green in Richmond.
At 8:52 a.m., the weather service warned that the Lamoille River could flood in East Georgia, Johnson and Jeffersonville. At that time, the river had reached 11.2 feet. At 13 feet, it would flood fields from Morrisville to Cambridge and cover parts of Routes 15, 108 and 109. That river was expected to crest at 14.9 feet by Monday evening.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Jeff Mills’ name in a caption.
