Monday, August 29, 2011

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.




27 comments:

The Jesse said...

glad to hear you are okay! i have lots of family in upstate new york so i've been getting updates. one of my aunts, in schroon lake, had flooding in her house. and several family members are without power.

Unknown said...

The destruction in VT is just horrible! Glad you are okay though. Stuff can be replaced, people cannot.

Pahla said...

Oh, I am so very glad to hear you are okay! Those pictures are so scary. I was certainly thinking about you this weekend and hoping you were safe.

RunningWhit said...

I am so glad to hear that you are safe and okay. I hope your town recovers quickly.

JenCreates098 said...

I am glad to hear you are okay and I am sorry to see how terrible Irene was to Vermont.

Not to be weirdly sappy, but my Mom and I were just talking about Vermont and my Mom said before they moved west, she and my Dad were going to move to Vermont. She went on and on about how much she loved it there....She hasn't been there in over 30 years, but she was very sad to see the destruction.

Average Woman Runner said...

oh no - that flooding is really bad. it's so strange that VT got hit so hard, being inland and everything. my "boss" daughter is at U of VT and got her stuff moved into her dorm just in time to hunker down. i hope the water recedes quickly and that things can go back to normal relatively quickly as well.

Kate Geisen said...

How awful. I'm so glad you guys are ok, though. Hopefully these are the last flooding pictures you post here for a long time!

Johann said...

That is really bad. Just good that you are all fine. Nature gives us so much beauty and pleasure but also reminds us of the power it has. Tale care!

Char said...

The flooding's so impressive - in a destructive way. I think you've had enough of the flooding and natural disasters for this year.

Fran said...

I'm so glad to hear from you. When I heard on the news yesterday Vermont was hitted hard by Irene you have been on my mind a lot.

I'm glad all the damage you had was no power and you and your husband are safe but it must be devistating to see the damage in the state you love so much.

Jennifer said...

Wow. The devastation is amazing. As I sit here remembering the sixth anniversary of Katrina I am reminded about how important friends and family will be for you in the upcoming weeks. Be strong for each other, it takes time but it will get back to normal.

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

I'm sorry for the destruction, but I'm glad you're okay and I'm glad you blogged to let us know how you are - I visited yesterday looking for news.

MCM Mama said...

Glad you are ok! I can't believe the destruction in Vermont. So sad.

HappyTrails said...

So glad to hear you are OK - we were very worried about you guys with all the flooding damage that was being shown on the news. Enough flooding for one year for your state....

christa said...

Glad you are ok!! We survived here in Bridport too. What a crazy storm. Hope to see you soon!!!

Anne said...

Very glad that you all are okay, but that devastation on Vermont is so sad. Enough already...big hug ((()))

Kandi said...

I heard things were bad in VT but I hadn't seen any pictures until you posted these. What horrible destruction! I'm glad that you and your family are alright. I saw Emily posted something on twitter saying you were ok.
We were very lucky down this way. My brother and his family were also lucky as they live on the shore in VA.

Christi said...

I am so happy to hear that you are okay. But I am saddened by the destruction of the storm. My prayers and thoughts are with all those who have to deal with its aftermath.

Laura said...

So glad you guys are ok but that is seriously scary and sad....

Marlene said...

I have been thinking of you and I am so sorry for the devastation in your beautiful state. I'm glad you and your family are alright - my heart goes out to all.

Paul said...

I was really surprised that VT got hit so hard. My sister lives in Readsboro, VT and she told us the scoop down there.


Ton's of roads out, lots of detours.

My niece is getting married (we are going out there end of Sept) and the venue was flooded...luckily it will be fixed by then.

All this and it was just a Cat 1. 8/

Lindsay said...

So glad you are ok!! I stalked you on Facebook but saw that you were ok, whew. I was worried! This is some crazy flooding...

Giorgio said...

The good news is that you're ok.
Thanks for sharing that impressive report!

Fruit Fly said...

Wow! I lived through 3 hurricanes in one season in Florida, and all I saw were downed palm trees and a ruined McDonald's sign. This is bad - and a lot of water. It looks like a movie, not real life.

Happy everyone is doing well!!

Sarah K said...

So glad you are okay!
I can't believe how swollen those rivers got. I can't believe how far north the damage extends!

Kate Geisen said...

Yes, however many laps you can manage. You don't necessarily have to alternate, though you both stay fresher that way. Some of the fast teams rode 11 laps in that time. AMAZING!! Of course, you didn't have to go nonstop. You could just hang out if you wanted. The problem with having a faster teammate is that he got WAY longer breaks than I did! :)

Black Knight said...

That is really bad, glad you are ok.