Irene

This is an incredibly sad collection of home videos of a small part of the destruction of Irene in Vermont.


Hurricane Irene hit Vermont hard!  Many of you wondered how I was faring and I thank you for your concern. I am feeling very lucky but many in my state are not so fortunate.  The Southern part of the state was hit particularly hard. Many towns are completely isolated due to washed out roads and bridges.  Three covered bridges were destroyed.  A few people were killed.

We were without electricity from early Sunday morning until sometime today.  Many are still without.  Yesterday I went into school to do some work.  When I came home just a few hours later I was shocked at how much the river had risen. It was the highest I have ever seen it except when the water went over the top of the bridge near my house in the flood of 98 and MANY local roads and bridges were washed away.

Yesterday the roads around us were closing quickly.  The difference this time from 98 was one never closed so we were not isolated and one reopened this morning. The one that is still closed will be closed for awhile due to a large washout.  The town I teach in has a boil water order but I don't think much damage was done.  It was strange because I was living it but my daughter from DC was able to tell me more about what was happening. We had no news and I don't have a smart phone so we were truly cut off.  When I got to work this morning (nothing was cancelled?  Really? ) I spent the first 30 minutes on line reading news accounts and looking at pictures.  I wasn't the only person who came into work with clean clothing intending to use the shower there.

The pictures that I am going to post are taken near where I live and are a very small sample of what Irene did to Vermont.  I heard some news accounts talking about all the Irene hype that didn't pan out. Well, it did here.

 This is "my" river and I feel a deep connection to it but it is certainly a fickle lover who can turn on you in a minute.

About 2:00 Sunday afternoon - the water is generally

far below this bridge. (see below)

The water coming around the corner

heading toward the bridge

The bridge was closed yesterday but people were driving

on it this morning. 

This is in the center of town near the former

library.

Next to the firehouse and the little league

fields.

This is the bridge in the center of town that I often

photograph.

This is Monday morning - near the pictures above.

One person's lawn after the river receded.

All 3 of these are from the same lawn.

This shows where the river was yesterday.

This road was closed Sunday but reopened today.  You 

can see where the river was.  The road

was undermined in a couple of places but I 

couldn't get a picture of it.

This road is closed and will stay closed for awhile.

A mile down this road there is a big washout.

This is a not great picture of the washout

on the closed road. Selfishly I am

also thinking that this is my bike 

route out of town! Same below.