U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to arrive to Vermont on Monday to assess flood damage in the state.
He will be joined by Governor Phil Scott and they are expected to hold a press conference, according to WPTZ.
Storms dumped up to two months’ worth of rain in a couple of days in parts of the region earlier this week, surpassing the amount that fell when Tropical Storm Irene blew through in 2011 and caused major flooding. Officials called this week’s flooding the state’s worst natural disaster since floods in 1927, and some suggested storms like this showed the impacts of climate change. More rain is expected in the coming days.
The flooding has been blamed for one death: Stephen Davoll, 63, drowned in his home Wednesday in Barre, a central Vermont city of about 8,500 people, according to Vermont Emergency Management spokesman Mark Bosma. He urged people to continue taking extra care as they return to their homes and repair damage.
“The loss of a Vermonter is always painful, but it is particularly so this week,” U.S. Sen. Peter Welch said in statement.
It was the second flood-related death stemming from a storm system and epic flooding in the Northeast this week. The first was in upstate New York, where a woman was swept away by floodwaters in Fort Montgomery, a small Hudson River community about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of New York City.
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President Joe Biden on Friday approved Vermont Gov. Phil Scott’s request for a major disaster declaration to provide federal support. Scott also said late Friday he has requested the U.S. Department of Agriculture issue a disaster designation for the state due to damage to crops.
Farms were hit hard, just after many growers endured a hard freeze in May. It’s expected to “destroy a large share of our produce and livestock feed,” Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said at a news conference. It was too soon to determine damage costs, he said.
“In our mountainous state, much of our most fertile farmland lies in river valleys, and countless fields of corn, hay, vegetables, fruit, and pasture were swamped and buried,” Scott said.
The state and others in the Northeast, including New Hampshire and Maine, are bracing for more wet weather expected to hit Sunday and into next week. The New Hampshire Department of Safety and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services said they are closely monitoring water levels across the state.
