In Montpelier on Wednesday, Gov. Phil Scott and state and federal officials said concern about the nearby Wrightsville Dam has eased as levels dropped about a foot. Scott, however, cautioned that there is an ongoing concern that rainfall of up to two inches later this week will cause more flooding and increase stress on levees statewide. There are about 900 state, local and privately owned dams, officials said.
So we’ll see what happens Thursday and Friday,” Scott said at a news conference. The weather service can forecast to the best of their ability, but I wouldn’t say we knew we were going to get seven to nine inches of rain in this latest storm.
Officials have urged residents to remain vigilant of rising waters near their homes. And, in a state where outdoor activity is a beneficial boon for residents, officials have urged them to stay away from rivers that not only have higher water levels but are also filled with debris from homes and businesses as flood waters raged earlier this week.
No flood-related deaths have been reported in the state as of Wednesday, officials said. The state, the American Red Cross, and some communities have opened shelters.
US Senator Bernie Sanders told reporters that he and other members of the congressional delegation will be looking at private insurance companies and how they treat their customers in Vermont.
We want to make sure they’re not cheating and duping people, Sanders said. I think we all understand that we are experiencing the worst natural disaster to impact the state of Vermont since 1927 where dozens of people died… Thank God at this point we have seen no fatalities and we all hope that is the case .
Boiling water orders have been issued for individual water districts and others are expected to require the public health safety measure, officials said.
Scott and FEMA Director Deanne Criswell plan to visit the state on Wednesday to get a more complete picture of the flood damage. Officials have urged residents to carefully document their losses and share that information with state officials as they prepare for a broader declaration of emergency by the Biden administration in the near future.
At Shaws Grocery Store on Main Street in Ludlow, men and women in yellow reflective vests pushed carts loaded with groceries into the parking lot. Then they threw the contents a tray of avocados, bunches of lettuce, a can of coffee into the dumpsters.
It’s pretty bad, said one of the workers, who wouldn’t give his name. Water was all over the shop. The worker identified himself as an employee of ServiceMaster, the company Shaw hired to clean the shop.
Inside, two dozen workers pulled produce off shelves, unloading it into shopping carts. Their boots left footprints in the half-inch layer of mud that covered the floor. In other aisles, crates of beer and bags of chips were scattered, apparently pulled from the shelves by the water that poured into the shop on Monday.
At a Sunoco gas station across the street, Ludlow resident Tiffany Marsh said she heard the Shaws wouldn’t reopen for at least two weeks.
It will be devastating, he said, noting there isn’t a major grocery store for 20 miles. It is a lifeline for the community….[and] travel is still limited.
In Johnson, a town of 1,300 people in north-central Vermont, Dan Copp, chief operator of the Johnson Waste Water Treatment Facility, found the facility completely underwater on Monday.
To get it up and running again, I’m talking six months, he said this week. Mainly supply issues. We have to replace miles and miles of cables.
The city’s water system weathered the storm, meaning people have water, which Copp says is both good and bad.
Well, because people have water; bad because the sewage goes directly into the Lamoille River.
But Copp pointed out that there is a huge amount of dilution going on because the river is now ten times its normal flow.
Around 10 am, Route 103, the highway through Ludlow, was closed in both directions.
Three trucks marked Vermont State Hazmat Team were parked on the dock, one with its lights flashing, and the smell of gas was in the air. A Suburban Propane worker who declined to give his name said his company was working with the state to recover the missing propane tanks.
We have two 1,000-gallon tanks here, he said, gesturing past the road closure. We think they are from Sams Steakhouse.
Recovery of the first tank went smoothly, the worker said. But the second tank appeared to be housed under a tree, according to Globe aerial drone footage.
The tank valve, the worker said, was stuck in the ground. A state Hazmat employee wearing full-body protective firefighting gear said the crew was preparing to unearth the tank.
When we release it, he said. There will be a lot of propane in the air.
On Wednesday, Rowan Anderson had stopped near the intersection of Route 10 and 103 where a bridge had been blown away. In its place is a lane of new pavement that must have been laid within the last couple of days. On Route 103, orange cones blocked the Ludlow road and there were two closed traffic signs.
From the side of the road, Anderson called her boss who told her people were overstepping the barrier. After seeing a dozen cars go by, she did too.
I need to get paid,’ she said.
On Tuesday, President Biden approved a federal emergency declaration for the state.
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According to state Secretary of Transportation Joe Flynn, 46 roads were closed in Vermont on Wednesday, an improvement from Tuesday, when 80 roads were closed. .
The state is inspecting 35 bridges for possible damage and two bridges have been blown away, he said. The floating bridge across Sunset Lake in Brookfield is gone, as is the bridge over Route 113 in the Orange County town of Vershire.
We’re still looking for the bridge from Vershire, he said. We won’t put it back. We’re just curious where he’s gone to.
Criswell, the director of FEMA, said the agency will assist in the recovery and urged residents to carefully document their damages now so they are available later during the recovery.
I just want everyone here to know that FEMA will be here to support Vermont, to support the governor and all of your needs as you move from response to recovery, he said. We will be here with you.
US Representative Becca Balint, Vermont’s only congresswoman, urged residents to acknowledge that they have been traumatized by the flood, the damage to their property and the upheaval in their lives they now face.
This type of event causes a tremendous amount of trauma for communities and for individuals,’ he said. What I ask of Vermonters is to be kind to one another. This is a difficult time for so many families, individuals, small businesses and even farmers… So please be kind to your neighbors. Let them know you are there for them. And we would have been there for you.
Meanwhile, Gov. Maura Healey visited storm damage in western Massachusetts on Wednesday and pledged that her administration will do everything it can to help farmers who have lost their livelihoods to the floods and residents who care for property damage.
Jeremiah Manion of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Mike Damiano can be reached at mike.damiano@globe.com. Kevin Cullen can be reached at kevin.cullen@globe.com. John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.
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