Vermont Rebounds Following Tropical Storm Irene
It is with great amazement that I watch the progress that has been taking place in Vermont since Tropical Storm Irene. August 28th, a great amount of our state quite literally washed away. Being here while it was happening, I must tell you that it was very surreal. Yes, it was raining, but we had experienced much more torrential rain on many other occasions without such devastation.
This storm was different than any other I've seen while I have been here, as attested to by the devastation that it spread in its wake. The rain turns creeks into rivers and rivers into raging thoroughfares of water more powerful than some Class IV rapids. Houses not only flooded but literally washed away from their foundations. The rivers completely re-routed themselves, carving through the land like a knife through soft butter.
Those who were near the water while it was rushing remarked all the same — the sound was deafening. The sound of gigantic boulders and river rocks crashing against each other as they were literally moved yards and in some instances miles downstream from where they once stood. Entire highways crumbled and staring at the devastation you would tend to think earthquake more than tropical storm.
Since the day after the storm, Vermonters and those volunteers, both military and civilian, have worked tirelessly and around the clock in the some instances to help get the state back on its feet. Road repairs right here in our little Vermont town, where the road crew consists of two full time and one part time employee, were accomplished at an incredible rate. Local dump truck operators volunteered to make stone runs to gather and deliver materials to the road crew that was working well into the dark to get roadways in the town repaired. Roads were restored as dump truck after dump truck rattled up barely passable roads to deliver stone to build up what Mother Nature so violently ripped apart.
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