Vermont gets respite from flood warnings as US senator pushes for disaster aid package

LYNDON, Vt. (news agencies) — Vermont residents awakened Thursday to a quieter weather forecast with no flood warnings following another round of destructive storms, as a U.S. senator from the state asked Congress to pass a disaster aid package that would help communities across the country dealing with wildfires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.

There were downpours Wednesday night in parts of Vermont and New Hampshire. St. Johnsbury, Vermont, which got more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain on Tuesday, saw less than an inch of rain Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said at a news conference Wednesday that the latest storms to hit the state have undone much of the cleanup and recovery work from its last major bout of flooding only weeks ago, and he called on residents to “stick together.”

“This time, it’s especially bad after workers spent the past three weeks working furiously to recover from the last flooding, ” Scott said. “It feels much worse than a punch or a kick. It’s simply demoralizing. But we can’t give up. We’ve got to stick together and fight back against the feeling of defeat.”

State officials said preliminary information indicated that 50 homes were destroyed or suffered significant damage. More than half a dozen roads were closed, a lightning strike knocked out water for part of the town of St. Johnsbury, and flooding had contaminated several wells that serve the village of Lyndonville.

In Washington, Democratic U.S. Sen. Peter Welch asked Congress to pass a supplemental disaster aid package.

“We can’t recover without that federal help,” he said in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday night. “I just can’t stress this enough. We need Congress to step up. And we need the help of all of us here because well, it’s Vermont this time, it may be New Hampshire next time. It may be Texas next month. And I believe all of us have to help one another when an event occurs causing such harm to people we represent. And it’s through no fault of their own.”

Vermont experienced major flooding earlier in July caused by what was left of Hurricane Beryl. The flooding destroyed roads and bridges and inundated farms, and it came exactly a year after a previous bout of severe flooding hit Vermont and several other states.

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.