Flash flooding in far-flung pockets of the Northeast Kingdom has destroyed houses, stranded homeowners and left longtime residents of rural communities on edge after experiencing their fifth catastrophic rain event in less than 13 months.
The most severe damage from Tuesday’s floods was largely confined to small sections of remote towns including Lyndonville, East Burke and Morgan. But the scale of damage in those neighborhoods in many instances surpassed what these communities saw during the July floods of 2023 and 2024.
“This is an event that we’ve never had before to this degree, so we’re venturing down a road that we haven’t been on, and it’s not a good road to be on,” said Lyndonville Fire Chief Jeff Corrow. “I’d like to say I’ve seen it all. But the next day it’s something new that I haven’t seen.”
Corrow said his department, along with search and water rescue crews from at least five other jurisdictions, evacuated numerous residents when the flooding peaked early Tuesday morning.
Some of the rescues occurred on Red Village Road, miles-long sections of which have been entirely overtaken by the Hawkins Brook.
Rose Reynolds woke up around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning when she heard loud noises outside her bedroom window.
“I assume it was the power lines coming down, because they hit the side of the house,” she said.
Shortly after, state police called her and her husband to ask if they could help evacuate a neighbor who lived in a tiny house across from their home.
“The person who was living there, they couldn’t get to her, so they were seeing if we could turn our lights on to get to her,” Reynolds said.
The power was out by then, so Reynolds’ husband turned the headlights of their car on and spotted the woman as she was leaving her house. He helped her make her way across the rising river, and fire crews arrived 90 minutes later and took her to the local hospital.
“It made for quite an exciting night for everybody that nobody was hoping for,” Reynolds said.
At least three homes along Hawkins Brook were lifted off their foundations or slabs and slammed into the streambank. The crumpled structures were visible from the remnants of Red Village Road Tuesday.
Reynolds’ basement is flooded, but she said her house is otherwise fine. Her front yard fared worse. And they’re now stranded in between flooded out sections of road.
“Probably half my front yard is gone. My mailbox. My fence. All kinds of stuff. So yeah, it’s pretty wild,” she said.
John Prue, the zoning administrator in Lyndonville, said damage assessments from Tuesday’s event have barely gotten underway. But he said it’s already clear road infrastructure alone will require “millions and millions” of dollars to repair.
MAP: Heavy rainfall and flood warnings in the Northeast Kingdom
Prue said Tuesday’s event is the fifth catastrophic flood to hit Lyndonville since last July.
“It’s crazy. It’s kind of hard to explain as for the why,” he said. “There’s a lot of arguing going on right now as far as, ‘It’s climate change,’ or, ‘We need to dredge the rivers,’ or, ‘There’s too much development happening in our river corridors or our flood hazard areas.’ And to be honest, it’s probably a combination of all of it.”
In St. Johnsbury, which saw 8 inches of rain, Town Manager Chad Whitehead said damage wasn’t as severe or widespread as it was earlier this month. But he said damage to town roads has been extensive.
“What we’re doing is identifying areas that are isolated and trying to make sure that we can get emergency services wherever we need to,” he said.
Some residents in St. Johnsbury, however, did experience severe flooding in their homes. Isaac and Andrea Poe, whose basement flooded earlier this month, had water on their first floor this time.
“This one was much worse,” Isaac Poe said.
With more heavy rain forecast for this region Wednesday, residents such as Rose Reynolds, who experienced a near miss Tuesday, are wondering what their future holds.
“I don’t know how we’re going to get drinking water yet. I don’t know how we’re going to get our vehicles out,” Reynolds said. “It keeps happening. I don’t know whether it’s climate change or just wild freak weather, but it is disheartening because we love living here and we love this town and this property and this community.”
Flood recovery resources
- For state road closure information, visit newengland511.org or follow @511VT on X. (For local road closures, use the Waze app or monitor town communications, such as a website or Facebook page.)
- You can sign up for alerts from the state at vtalert.gov.
- The latest forecasts and water levels for specific rivers are provided by the National Water Prediction Service.
- Find power outage information at vtoutages.org.
- To find more resources and services, and to report flood damage, call Vermont 2-1-1 or visit vermont211.org.
- For a list of state resources and guidance about flooding, visit vermont.gov/flood. The guidance includes returning home after a flood, cleaning up, and dealing with mold.
- Find flood recovery information in multiple languages at vem.vermont.gov/flood/translation.
- To request cleanup help from volunteers and groups, call the Crisis Cleanup hotline at 802-242-2054.
- For mental health support, call 9-8-8 or call or text the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990.
- To register through the state to volunteer, visit vermont.gov/volunteer.
- If flood waters reached your private well or spring, order a drinking water test kit through the Vermont Department of Health.
- Find flood-prone areas near you with the Vermont Flood Ready Atlas.
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