Vermont and Hurricane Irene - A Week Later

Sept. 4, 2011 - PRLog -- Vermont is a place nearly every American – whether they’ve had the privilege of visiting or not – associates with arresting natural beauty and true scenic charm.  The turn of the leaves in the mountains.  White powder and skiers in winter.  The greening leaves of the Sugar Maple, Beech and Yellow Birch in spring and summer.

When the weather turns harsh in The Green Mountain State, residents prepare themselves for a bitter cold snap or possibly a blizzard.  This is what they know, and cold and snow is something Vermonters are accustomed to as New Englanders.  What Vermonters are not accustomed to are tropical storms or hurricanes.  

When Hurricane Irene – a storm nearly twice the size of a typical hurricane – made landfall on North Carolina’s Outer Banks Saturday, August 27th, she lost only minimal power.  And even though she was eventually downgraded to a tropical storm, her charging march up the Eastern Seaboard wrought a devastating toll on the communities in her path.  Because Irene did not exact the loss of life that previous major storms had created, like Katrina, Audrey or Camille, many people, even meteorologists, began to dismiss the event.  When Irene did not impact New York City as badly as had been feared, jokes about the storm began to litter the blogosphere, Twitter and other social networking sites.  

Meanwhile, folks in Irene’s path were scrambling for their belongings and hanging on to loved ones as they witnessed pilings collapsing, covered bridges tearing away from their supports, roadways turning into rivers, and homes becoming swimming pools.  

Vermont is surrounded on all sides by land and forms the back of the arch that creates the slight crescent that is the New England states.  Still, it is close enough to the coast that when Irene forged past the land break at New Jersey and Connecticut she blasted Vermont with what would become torrential rains and incomprehensible flooding.  Any resident still able to receive TV newsfeed would be shocked later by how meteorologists, with so much as a sweep of an arm, were suggesting that everything was now okay.    

The fact is that while New Yorkers may have fared relatively well after Irene’s punch, many Vermonters, and much in the way of their infrastructure, commercial, residential and historic construction, are down for the count.  

What made Irene’s impact in Vermont so damaging was the very thing that makes Vermont such a national treasure—its topography.  Irene was a radically large hurricane to start—and even downgraded to tropical storm—when a weather system her size began the upward climb in the cooling air of the mountains, tropical air condensed, producing eight hours of heavy rainfall for which no amount of preparation could have prepared anyone.  


This is the same State that has been showing up so tirelessly since the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti last year, and it’s a place known for its citizens’ consistent commitment to humanitarian causes—dating back to pre-colonial times.  When Vermonters began to see images of their state’s devastation by Irene they began to wonder why there is no national attention coming to them and their crisis now.  There is nothing quite like the image of your neighbors being carried, without their possessions, away from their drowning home on the back of earth moving equipment to make you doubtful of ever being rescued yourself.

Vermonters are banding together, as they always have, but they need more support than the weight their own arms can carry this time—which has always been considerable.  Most, of course, do not have flood insurance; there was never a need.  This time, the State that does so much for others is going to need the help of its friends and its country.    

If you are able to help please do so—and please spread the word about the State most devastated by Irene!

Taken directly from the Stowe Reporter’s ‘Ways to Help Vermont Flood Victims’ page, please consider these ways of reaching out to Vermonters right now:

•   The Red Cross is asking for financial donations.  Donations can be made at  www.vermontredcross.org or by calling 800-660-9130. For those who are interested in volunteering, register online at www.vermontredcross.org and click on the red "Volunteer" button on the left.

•   The United Way has set up a relief fund.  You can donate at Vermont211.org or by calling 211.
•   There is a grassroots volunteer effort online.  The site is vtresponse.wordpress.com.  

•   Text FOODNOW to 52000 to donate $10 to Vermont Foodbank. The Foodbank will turn each donation into $60 for families in need.

•   The VT Irene Flood Relief Fund is raising money to help people and communities affected by flooding. 100 percent of all donations will be distributed to businesses and families.  The fund is being administered by Todd K. Bailey.  Info on Facebook under VT Irene Flood Relief Fund.

•   VOLUNTEERING.

•   VTResponse.com is working to connect volunteers ready to help with those that need assistance

•   Montpelier Alive is coordinating volunteer efforts in that city through their Facebook page.

•   Volunteer and cleanup efforts are also being coordinated on Twitter via #VTresponse.

•   IAmVermontStrong.com  Show you are VERMONT STRONG by purchasing a T-shirt.  All proceeds will go to the Vermont Foodbank.


One week from Irene’s landfall, people remain in communities cut off from one another, left with the remains of residences that may not dry out for weeks or months, belongings and personal treasures lost, access to food and safe shelter difficult to reach, friends and relatives still unheard from, pets still not found.