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Think. Again.

(17,930 posts)
Fri Aug 2, 2024, 08:18 AM Aug 2024

Vermont Inundated as 1-in-1,000-Year Rainfall Event Destroys Homes, Prompts Rescues

By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
Published: July 31, 2024
Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/vermont-flooding-2024.html

Since Monday night, northeast Vermont has been inundated with heavy rain and flash flooding that washed out roads, damaged buildings and left residents stranded, reported Reuters.

Nearly eight inches of rain fell in only six hours in St. Johnsbury — considered a one in a thousand year event, CNN reported.


The aftermath of flash flooding on Red Village Road in Lyndonville, Vermont on July 30 2024. Danielle Parhizkaran / The Boston Globe via Getty Images

“This is devastating and was completely unexpected. I had no idea this was coming,” said one of the town’s residents Vanessa Allen, as reported by The Associated Press. “It’s just all unbelievable how bad the roads are. We’re trapped. We can’t go anywhere.”

-snip-

Peter Banacos, a weather service operations officer, said there had been four flooding events in Vermont in the past year, caused by the mountainous terrain of the state combined with climate change. Banacos said increased rainfall and more frequently saturated soil have made it more susceptible to flooding.

-snip-
12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Vermont Inundated as 1-in-1,000-Year Rainfall Event Destroys Homes, Prompts Rescues (Original Post) Think. Again. Aug 2024 OP
The devastation is heartbreaking around here. democrank Aug 2024 #1
BIG hugs... Think. Again. Aug 2024 #3
Some other recent massive rainfall events. Jim__ Aug 2024 #2
It's just the beginning. Think. Again. Aug 2024 #4
I think some of us have become broken records. Brenda Aug 2024 #10
When I see a posting show up in a search engine, I am encouraged to post again OKIsItJustMe Aug 2024 #11
Yes, but since this Group is so slow moving Brenda Aug 2024 #12
AP: Why does Vermont keep flooding? It's complicated, but experts warn it could become the norm OKIsItJustMe Aug 2024 #5
Yes, it's the quickness of these changes that causes so much damage... Think. Again. Aug 2024 #6
Change in the Magnitude of River Flooding, 1965-2015 OKIsItJustMe Aug 2024 #7
Change in the Frequency of River Flooding, 1965-2015 OKIsItJustMe Aug 2024 #8
Change in Precipitation, 1901-2023 OKIsItJustMe Aug 2024 #9

democrank

(11,250 posts)
1. The devastation is heartbreaking around here.
Fri Aug 2, 2024, 09:10 AM
Aug 2024

Two floods, just under three weeks apart. As usual, Vermonters will be there for one another. So many reminders to count our blessings.

A hug to all Vermonters~

Brenda

(1,321 posts)
10. I think some of us have become broken records.
Fri Aug 2, 2024, 12:24 PM
Aug 2024

Maybe we have to get louder or more obnoxious since we roundly get ignored.

Hah, I bet people under 40 don't know what broken records means.

Thanks for posting the horrible news, TA. I've had to cut back on my climate readings, too frustrating.

OKIsItJustMe

(20,736 posts)
11. When I see a posting show up in a search engine, I am encouraged to post again
Fri Aug 2, 2024, 12:29 PM
Aug 2024

I like to think that at least the headline is seen, if not the full posting.

Brenda

(1,321 posts)
12. Yes, but since this Group is so slow moving
Fri Aug 2, 2024, 12:39 PM
Aug 2024

sometimes having so many "headlines" does not really help. Good articles and discussions can get buried if dozens of headlines appear at once.

Maybe we should all start cross-posting these things in GD. I mean the weather chaos is hitting every state, every country so it seems like it would be of "general" interest.

I mostly read climate related websites for this news, not the MSM, and often read stories that I would like to post here at DU but they don't get much visibility in this Group and sometimes they get outright hostility if not ignored in GD. So, I often don't bother.

OKIsItJustMe

(20,736 posts)
5. AP: Why does Vermont keep flooding? It's complicated, but experts warn it could become the norm
Fri Aug 2, 2024, 11:13 AM
Aug 2024
https://apnews.com/article/vermont-flooding-climate-change-severe-weather-3f1e3c5f55a69cd75d5b5ad0f31792f3
Why does Vermont keep flooding? It’s complicated, but experts warn it could become the norm

BY PATRICK WHITTLE AND MICHAEL CASEY
Updated 3:50 PM EDT, July 31, 2024



A combination of factors leaves Vermont susceptible to these kinds of devastating floods. Here’s a look at a few, along with photos and video from the latest storms.

Climate change warming the atmosphere
Extreme flooding conditions like these are often the result of random, short-term natural weather patterns heightened by long-term, human-caused climate change.

With climate change, storms are forming in a warmer atmosphere, making extreme rainfall a more frequent reality. The additional warming that scientists predict is coming will only make it worse, with the Northeast U.S. among the regions vulnerable to heavier rains in the future.



A study last year in the journal Climate Change found that extreme precipitation in the Northeast will increase 52% by the end of the century. One of the study’s authors, Jonathan Winter, an associate professor of geography at Dartmouth College, also took part in research that found there had been a 50% increase in extreme precipitation events from 1996 to 2014.

Think. Again.

(17,930 posts)
6. Yes, it's the quickness of these changes that causes so much damage...
Fri Aug 2, 2024, 11:21 AM
Aug 2024

Our total environment, the world around us, does change constantly but oh, so slowly.

The addition of massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere in only a few short decades is triggering ecological pressures that the lands, oceans, air currents, geography, etc just can not suddenly adapt to, and so, we have these massive, sudden, over-responses.

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