Following its landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane, the remnants of Hurricane Beryl brought damaging flooding to Vermont on Thursday. This unfortunate event occurred just a year after the state experienced catastrophic flooding in certain areas.
Heavy rain starting on Wednesday led to flooded roads, washouts, and debris-covered streets across Vermont. Reports of rescues emerged on Wednesday night, with some communities being placed under evacuation orders. Central Vermont, which was severely impacted by last July's flooding, bore the brunt of the damage, with reports of flooded roads and homes in the city of Barre.
While Beryl transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone, it continued to wreak havoc, causing tornadoes and flooding from the Great Lakes to northern New England. Parts of northern New York and New England, including Vermont, remained under flood watches or warnings early Thursday. The National Weather Service forecasted thunderstorms associated with Beryl to persist along much of the East Coast through Friday.
Despite assurances that the storm would not result in catastrophic flooding akin to last July's events, the Vermont Emergency Management reported evacuations and road closures due to flooding, particularly in the central part of the state. Vermonters and visitors were advised to seek higher ground if floodwaters approached, with rescue teams and the National Guard on standby.
Elsewhere, reports of tornadoes emerged, with one touching down in upstate New York, causing damage to trees and property. In southwestern Indiana's Posey County, another tornado collapsed a warehouse, ripped off roofs, derailed train cars, and damaged mobile homes, although no injuries were reported.
Tragically, Beryl has been linked to at least seven deaths in the U.S. — one in Louisiana and six in Texas — and at least 11 fatalities in the Caribbean. As of early Thursday, over 1.3 million homes and businesses in Texas were still without electricity, a significant decrease from the peak of over 2.7 million outages on Monday.
