The Closet Professor

With all of the rain we have gotten in Vermont since Sunday, there has been extensive flooding around the state. If you’ve seen the news, you’ve probably seen some of the devastation in Montpelier. A lot of news coverage has been about Montpelier because it’s the state capital, but there has been flooding all over central Vermont: Barre, Berlin, East Montpelier, Waterbury, etc.  There was also flooding in Ludlow, Londonderry, and Middlebury. Towns all along the Winooski, Lamoille, and Missisqoi Rivers have seen flooding. For the moment, we seem to be past the worst of it. On the national news, the reporters in Montpelier were giving dire warnings about a dam that was close to being compromised just north of Montpelier, but by the time they were giving that report the danger had passed a few hours before and the dam was no longer in any danger.

While I was without power all Monday night, I have been fine otherwise. There has been flooding all around me, and all of my routes to work were closed due to flooding. I live on high ground, about several hundred feet above one of the flooded rivers, so I have not been in any danger. Road closures have not been updated this morning, so I am not sure about the status of the roads I’ll need to travel for work. However, the water has receded in n Montpelier, so it will probably be safe to get to work. I’m going to try to get to work, but if anything looks dangerous, I’ll head back home and work from home today. 

While the waters are receding and the level of the rivers is going down, there is more rain to come over the next several days. There may be more flooding but hopefully, we are passed the worst of it. Vermont had extensive flooding during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, but some places have not seen flooding this bad since the great floods of 1927. From what I’ve heard, there have been no deaths associated with the flooding, but the repairs to the extensive damage across the state will be a long, slow, and expensive process. Many businesses have suffered major damage. One shopping center next to me had flood waters up to the roofline. Sadly, that included the Chinese restaurant that I often stop to get dinner from on my way home and don’t want to cook. The full extent of the damage probably won’t be known for several days. Please keep my adopted state of Vermont in your prayers as it works to recover from this devastation.

QUICK UPDATE: Roads are still closed on my way to work, so I am working from home today. Hopefully, I will be able to make it into work tomorrow.