Flash flood swoops in
Storms hit and miss around region
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Paul Whitney of Clover Street in Rutland lost his driveway Friday. Vyto Starinskas / Rutland Herald |
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By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: August 22, 2009
The torrential rains hammered much of the state Friday, closing several roads, forcing the evacuation of a police station and causing emergency providers to scramble, battling downed trees and power lines.
"Well, it looks like Chelsea was hardest hit," said Mark Bosma, state emergency management spokesman.
The heavy rain caused flash flooding, which in Chelsea temporarily closed routes 110 and 113 and forced the evacuation of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. While flooding also hit downtown Rutland City hard, outlying areas of Rutland County and Bennington, Windsor and Windham counties were spared the full brunt of the storm's wrath.
"Well, we've had some issues with Post Road in the past," said Rutland Town Road Commissioner Byron Hathaway. "But we cleared the drains after the last storms (and) today everything was fine."
Hathaway reported a "minor drainage issue" on McKinley Avenue that did not cause flooding.
If emergency calls are any measure of storm damage, Clarendon appears to have been spared.
"We haven't had any reports to the fire department," said Chief Norman Flanders with the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department. "We've been lucky. I've seen some small branches down but nothing major. Just some wind damage."
Rapidly rising water forced police to temporarily redirect traffic on Route 103 in downtown Ludlow.
"We didn't close it, but we slowed it down for a while," said Ludlow Police Chief Jeffrey Billings of his department's response to rapidly rushing water that flowed down Commonwealth Avenue and across Route 103 near Fletcher Memorial Library.
Several calls came in simultaneously at the onset of the storm, said Capt. Dan Baldwin with the Springfield Fire Department.
"We got a call of a motor vehicle accident on the interstate and a downed power line," Baldwin said. "There were no injuries but it all happened at once."
Springfield firefighters responded to a tree that downed power lines on Dutton District Road and rerouted traffic as they waited for repairmen from Central Vermont Public Service to arrive, Baldwin said.
The sudden rush of water was enough to dislodge manhole covers, said Fire Chief Russell Thompson.
"Springfield, and most of Vermont, is so hilly that you'll find that when water flows down hill it can lift manhole covers," Thompson said.
Bennington County did not sustain any flooding, according to State Police.
Bellows Falls was also spared, according to Paul Dexter, a firefighter with the Bellows Falls Fire Department.
"It went all around us. I haven't rolled a wheel all day," Dexter said, noting a tree came down in Rockingham but didn't cause any damage.
Bosma said people, especially those living near rivers and streams, should be prepared for the possibility of flash floods this weekend.
"The front is supposed to stall out and south-central and southeastern parts of the state should expect lots of rain," Bosma said as he reminded people to familiarize themselves with evacuation routes, prepare a disaster kit with a flashlight, radio food and water and to never drive through standing water.
For up-to-date information on road closures, call 511 or visit www.511vt.com. For more information on how to prepare for a disaster, visit www.dps.state.vt.us/vem.
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com