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See photos and videos of flooding in Vermont

By Shannon Larson Globe Staff,Updated July 12, 2023, 9:06 a.m.
Floods in Vermont close streets and take out bridges
Heavy rainfall and flooding have forced evacuations and caused widespread property damage in Vermont.

Torrential rains swept across much of Vermont and other parts of New England this week, causing dangerous flooding that resulted in extensive damage, prompted numerous high-water rescues and evacuations, and the bursting of at least one dam.

The punishing rains led Governor Philip Scott to declare a state of emergency on Sunday, and by Tuesday evening, two months of rain fell. Parts of downtown Montpelier, the capital, were flooded by nearly 9 inches.

Scott warned on Tuesday that the crisis is nowhere near over, calling the damage “historic and catastrophic” with flooding that “surpassed levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene” in 2011.

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While the rain has stopped in some areas, flooding may still cause further damage, Scott said, and the waters will not immediately recede but could “continue to rise.”

Throughout the catastrophic weather event, residents and local agencies have shared astonishing visuals of the flooding, which recall the devastation from Irene. The deluge rendered some roads impassable.

See photos and videos below:

Wednesday

Jesse Moorman (left) took a break from helping his friend clean out her home in Montpelier, Vt.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Friends and strangers came out to help Katie Swick (not pictured) remove drywall and debris from her home in Montpelier, Vt. Swick wanted to clear drywall so that the mold would not spread inside her walls which led her to gut the lower portion of the first floor of her home. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Workers clean up flood debris at Okemo Marketplace, a shopping center at the base of Okemo Mountain after major floods in Ludlow, Vt. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe
Bill Bradley and Renee Duarte worked together to remove a piece of exercise equipment from the finished basement that was flooded out in the farmhouse at Foote Brook Organic Farm in Johnson, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Patrick Lafaso tossed couch cushions out of the window as he helped Jessica Anthony clean up from the historic flooding in Vermont that filled the first floor of her apartment. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A landlord moved furniture into the back of a dump truck as she worked to clear debris left behind by the floodwaters that flooded the first floor of the apartments she owns in Johnson.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Workers repair a railroad bridge at the base of Okemo Mountain after major floods in Ludlow, VT. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe
Debra Cook waited while Andrew Molen, a restaurant owner in Ludlow, goes to pick up her necessary medication for her asthma condition. Cook had been attempting to cross the damaged bridge behind her walking with a walker after major floods in Ludlow, VT. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe
Damaged bridge on Dug Rd after major floods in Ludlow, VT. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe
A car is abandoned on a bridge after major floods in the area of Ludlow, VT. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe
Gary Thomas, an employee of Shaw’s, helped to dispose of damaged food at a Shaw’s Supermarket in Downtown Ludlow on Wednesday after major floods in the area of Ludlow, Vt. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe
The owner and an employee of Singleton's Market surveyed damage caused to the store due to flooding in Proctorsville, Vt. Vincent Alban/for The Boston Globe
Jessica Anthony walked through her living room to begin throwing away her possessions after the first floor of her apartment flooded in Johnson, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff



Tuesday

Teddy Waszazak, a city councilor in Barre, Vt. helped The Quarry dig out from the mud on Tuesday.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A woman crossed the street through a cloud of dust kicked up in downtown Montpelier, Vt. after mud left over from the floods began to dry. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
After days of wearing wet shoes Martin Kemple did away with them and went barefoot as he helped clean up Splash Naturals in downtown Montpelier after the floodwaters receded on Tuesday.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Members of the Colchester Technical Rescue team evacuate two adults and an infant from their downtown Montpelier, Vermont, apartment.John Tully/For The Washington Post
A man stood out on the step of his apartment building surrounded by floodwaters in Montpelier, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Ned McCarthy (left) and his uncle, Todd, worked to salvage shoes that were in the basement of Lenny’s Outlet after it flooded from the storm in Barre, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Lok Parrott, 7, played in the mud from floodwaters in Barre, Vt., on Tuesday.HILARY SWIFT/NYT
A man in waders navigates the flooded streets in downtown Montpelier, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Floodwaters ran through where a driveway once was in Barre, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
People walked up a street damaged by floodwaters in Barre, Vt.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A man looked out of his window as flood waters inundate downtown Montpelier, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Diana Patchen used a snow shovel to clean up the mud that was left behind on the front step of her apartment building on Tuesday in Barre, Vt.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Women handed their bags to a friend in a canoe as they evacuated from a building surrounded on all sides with flood waters in downtown Montpelier, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Vermont Urban Search and Rescue used an inflatable boat to get communications experts from the state to areas that are flooded in Montpelier, Vt., on Tuesday morning.RICHARD BEAVEN/NYT
A woman took a photo of flood waters covering downtown Montpelier, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Damage to a road surface from flooding in Barnard, Vt., on Tuesday morning.HILARY SWIFT/NYT
Downtown Montpelier was seen from the bow of a canoe as floodwaters covered the streets. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Cleanup began on Main Street in Barre, Vt., on Tuesday morning.HILARY SWIFT/NYT


A truck drove through floodwaters on Main Street in Barre, Vt., on Tuesday morning.HILARY SWIFT/NYT
A flooded parking lot in Barre, Vt., on Tuesday morning.HILARY SWIFT/NYT
A woman looked out form her window as floodwaters surround her apartment in downtown Montpelier, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A flooded parking lot in Barre, Vt., on Tuesday morning.HILARY SWIFT/NYT
Floodwater flows along a road in Chester, Vermont, on July 10.Scott Eisen/Photographer: Scott Eisen/Getty


Monday

Residents waded through the floodwaters at their home in Waterbury, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Clement Despault embraced his friend Kim Crowell inside her garage as the water rose on both sides around her home in Waterbury, Vt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Water flooded around a house on Route 11 on Monday in Windham, Vt. Scott Eisen/Getty
Floodwaters overtook Farr’s Field in Waterbury, Vt.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A man waded through floodwaters to help his friend remove possessions from his home in Waterbury, Vt.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A yard was flooded by rushing water on Monday in Londonderry, Vt. Scott Eisen/Getty


Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.