Anyone who thinks that hurricane was no biggie

[Henicillin]

There are areas in Upstate NY and in VT that are devastated, including entire towns effectively wiped off the map in the Catskills. Some places are accessible only by ATV, horse, mountain bike, or foot. Most of these areas aren't exactly flush with cash, so it'll be difficult for towns to find the money for repairs, even with FEMA help. Couple that with winter coming on shortly, making it urgent that many of these places get repaired very soon, and you have a huge mess.

DH has a friend who lives in Bennington, VT, right on the Walloomsac River. The water reached his house, but didn't flood him out. The home two doors down from him was completely swept away.

Comparatively little media attention is being paid to the affected regions, so help is slow in coming. There are a lot of grass-roots efforts being organized locally, though - neighbors helping neighbors.

 

[chickensioux]

http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/hurrdanny/hurrdanny.html


In 1997 we went to Gulf Shores AL. We arrived the afternoon Hurricane Danny was due to hit that evening. When we went to our hotel (a highrise) they told us that it was "only a Category 1" and a voluntary evacuation only. They told us that Cat. 1 blow in and blow out. We chose to stay. That evening all h*** broke loose. We were on the 8th floor, the windows blew out, we had to put the mattresses up against the windows. Our 8th floor room was 6 inches deep in water from what blew in. The storm stalled right over Gulf Shore. We lost power, etc. Our car and the CNN van were the only vehicles in the parking lot.
It's a story we tell now but at the time we were very frightened and will not choose to stay ever again because "it's only a Category 1"

 

[annie3001]

so sad.

vermont is like our second home. for about 2 years we have been looking for land for a small vacation home up in vermont. our vacation and getaway, really is vermont. so sad to see the loss of historic covered bridges, they are just such a part of vermont and vermont life. i know they can rebuild and move on. in time that will happen. just my thoughts on the flooding in vermont.

 

[NYRIR]

Vermont has always been my favorite state. My son's paternal grandmother's house slid off the foundation from the flooding

The field they live in was devastated...I feel very lucky! We only lost power and were stuck at home since all roads leading out were flooded and closed.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

How are you Vermonters doing as winter sets in??

We're stuck with such sodden land I worry what will happen when it freezes this way and then more precipitation comes!

 

[chickbea]

I've lived in Vermont my whole life, and we are prepared for feet of snow, inches of ice, and even lots of water when the snow melts, but Irene was something I've never seen before!
Emergency services were totally overwhelmed. Being rural, the majority of our emergency response folks are volunteers, and those poor guys went DAYS without sleep or rest. The day after the worst of it I tried to get to work, and after multiple washouts I finally ran out of routes to try. There was a bridge totally out on one road, and it was marked on one end with a single bedraggled traffic cone, and on the other end with a few pieces of firewood. Instead of going to work I decided my time would be better spent making a better warning that there was no bridge ahead!

However, don't hesitate to come visit - we've been working hard to get things back in action for leaf peeping and skiing and biking and hiking and all the other fun stuff Vermont has to offer- the foliage appears to be coming out just as beautiful as ever, and most businesses are up and running! Come on up!