Oh, Irene, you’re a tricky one. When all our attention was diverted to your path south and east of here, you sneaked inland and gave us a whump upside the head. I mean, since when are Vermont and hurricane used in the same sentence — except of course to say, “We never get hurricanes in Vermont”?

Right. Never. Until now.

Okay, Irene was a tropical storm when it got here. But it sure did a number on us.?Torrential rains yesterday caused catastrophic flooding. Roads were destroyed, covered bridges swept away, towns and villages flooded.

Here are a few heart breaking images.

This is Ludlow, the town nearest me. The flooding is pretty typical throughout the state:

Here’s Route 7, south of Rutland:

Here’s Route 4, near Killington:

And here’s a remembrance of the covered bridge in Quechee, which was completely destroyed:

My heart is breaking for my beautiful state.

It’s going to be a long time before anyone can travel anywhere around here. Simple questions: how will we get groceries? ?What about getting into town to get the mail?

And larger ones: how long will repairs take? What will this cost the state?

A lot needs to be sorted out. Right now the state is assessing the damage, seeing what needs to be done.

Thanks a lot, Irene.

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