News and Media: Disaster 4720

From July 7-21, 2023, heavy rain across Vermont drove rivers to near record levels causing historic and catastrophic flooding. In Montpelier, the Winooski River crested at 21 feet, reaching a height not seen since the 1920s and leading to the rescue of over 100 people from flooded cars and homes.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $22 million to the State of Vermont to reimburse it for the cost of debris removal and measures taken to stabilize state office buildings following the July 2023 storms and flooding.

Cambridge, VT redesigned a flood-prone bridge with FEMA and state grants, solving a human-caused problem.

In Brandon, Vermont, catastrophic floods have hit the town’s residents from the time of its founding – until they used FEMA funding after Tropical Storm Irene to build a $2.5 million culvert. This July, when severe storms rolled across Vermont, that decision proved its worth: downtown didn’t flood.

FEMA and the state of Vermont have found housing for everyone who was eligible for a planned manufactured housing community in Montpelier. As a result, that site is no longer needed.