After first making landfall in North Carolina on Saturday, August 27, Irene had decreased to tropical storm force by the time it reached Vermont late on Sunday. Nevertheless, the impact was devastating.
Three people in Vermont lost their lives, nearly 300 roads and 30 bridges are closed, rail traffic has stopped and the state office complex was shut down.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont told reporters, "There are some who believe that this is the worst natural disaster to hit the state since the 1927 floods."
Irene dumped heavy rains on the state late Sunday, causing flash floods, forcing hundreds of evacuations and leaving 40,000 to 50,000 people without power. Today, two days after the storm, nearly 20,000 Vermonters are still in the dark.
Senator Sanders, an Independent, accompanied U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate today, inspecting heavily-damaged areas of the state. They were joined by Senator Patrick Leahy, Congressman Peter Welch and Governor Peter Shumlin, all Democrats, at stops in Ludlow, Wilmington, and Brattleboro. Later, they flew over other flood-damaged parts of the state to assess the damage. Read the full report here.
Source: Environment News Service, Montpelier, Vermont.
