Scott Withers
Vermont city fears unprecedented dam failure
President Joe Biden approved Vermont's emergency declaration as numerous towns are dealing with flooding.
LEARN MOREPosted: 6:51 p.m. EDT Jul 11, 2023
The Northeast is dealing with historic rainfall and potentially catastrophic flooding.
Millions of people across New England are bracing for the next wave of newly created fast rising rivers.
And there's more rain on the way. Six inches could still fall in Vermont. Up to 10 inches of rain fell in a day in parts of Pennsylvania.
There were similar totals in upstate New York near the West Point Military Academy, which saw a once in a thousand year flooding event, meaning it has just a 0.1% chance of happening in any year.
Emergency crews rescued people from their homes and cars, but not everyone made it. At least one woman was killed in New York.
"She was trying to leave her home because of the flash flooding and didn't make it across," said Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus. "She was walking her dog across from what we know, and got swept up by the, literally, rapids. It's incredible the amount of water here."
The water is quickly filling waterways. The Winooski River that runs through Vermont's capital city of Montpelier is set to crest at almost twenty feet, the second highest level ever measured.
The flash flooding reminded residents of the devastating inland flooding from Hurricane Irene in 2011.
And now it will take days for the flood waters to recede. But the rain has to stop first.
