Vermont Warns Montpelier Residents of Possible Dam Failure After Torrential Downpours

Residents of Montpelier, Vermont, were warned early Tuesday as a local dam filled close to capacity amid catastrophic flooding.

In a Facebook post, Montpelier City Manager William Fraser called it a “Potentially Dangerous Situation” and told neighbors, “The Wrightsville Dam only has 6 feet of storage capacity left.”

He continued:

If water exceeds capacity, the first spillway will release water into the North Branch River. This has never happened since the dam was built so there is no precedent for potential damage. There would be a large amount of water coming into Montpelier which would drastically add to the existing flood damage. This will be particularly bad along the North Branch River corridor and into the downtown. Unfortunately, there are very few evacuation options remaining. People in at risk areas may wish to go to upper floors in their houses.

According to Fox Weather, water levels in the downtown area rose early Tuesday but have slightly receded.

Meanwhile, Vermont State Police said rescue teams have performed over 100 rescues across the state and have not stopped, while rescue groups from states such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and North Carolina traveled to Vermont to assist.

Those groups will soon be joined by others who want to help residents.

Aerial video footage shows the flooding devastation in Montpelier with vehicles nearly submerged in water:

In a social media post Tuesday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott told residents “Just because the rain has stopped in some areas, does not mean the threat of flooding has gone away. Stay vigilant and stay updated.”

The rain began falling Sunday in the Hudson Valley before moving into New England on Monday, causing flooding in Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, and Vermont, the Fox report noted.

“At one point on Monday, nearly the entire state of Vermont was under a Flash Flood Warning, and a Flash Flood Emergency was in effect for some areas throughout Monday morning,” the outlet said, adding the flooding was expected to continue on Tuesday.

In a social media post Monday afternoon, Vermont State Police shared video footage of the rushing floodwaters:

“Almost three dozen state roads are closed due to high water, and additional closures are possible as rivers and streams continue to rise. This figure does not include town roads,” the agency noted.

Scott declared a state of emergency on Monday, per ABC News, and Mike Cannon, who is the program director for Urban Search and Rescue, told the outlet, “We had a hurricane, Tropical Storm Irene, in 2011. This will probably exceed that damage, only because the rain has not let up.”

“Hurricane Irene was 11 inch dumping in 12 hours. This has been constant since five o’clock yesterday afternoon and the rain has not let up,” he added:

According to the Fox report, flood watches are still in effect in the state of Vermont, areas of northern New England, and areas of northeastern New York.

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New York State Police via Storyful