Turn around don’t drown.
2023-07-11
Dear friend,
How are you doing?
Here in Halifax, and also in Whitingham and Wilmington, we seem to be okay. Thank you to the many outside our region who have expressed concern about us after the July 10, 2023 storm. There's damage here and there, and the ditches are a bit wider, as one Selectboard member observed to me, but we seem to have dodged this one.
A federal emergency has been declared for Vermont. The storm dumped up to 9 inches across Vermont at a time when our soils were already saturated from a summer with rainfall 3x to 4x the typical amount.
Across the state, no deaths have been reported. However, towns such as Ludlow, Chester, Montpelier, and many more have seen catastrophic flooding.
Please stay safe. Rivers in central and northern Vermont are expected to crest this evening around 6 p.m., and more rain could come.
Have you seen a "Turn Around Don't Drown" sign before?
The first one I recall seeing was on a drive through Bethel, Vermont last week. It is now swimming in the White River.
Most storm-related deaths are from drowning, and most of those deaths are preventable.
Do you really know how deep the water is? Turn Around Don't Drown.
Here's info on Turn Around Don't Drown from NOAA:
Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters. People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in cars swept downstream. Many of these drownings are preventable.
Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road. The road may have collapsed under that water.
A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars and just 2 feet of rushing water can carry away SUVs and trucks. It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters.
File that way for next time, along with these other flood safety tips.
To gawk from a safe distance, this compilation from VT Digger is jaw-dropping. This is the one of Montpelier I keep coming back to:
Downtown Montpelier from City Center on July 11, 2023. Photo by StoryWorkz for VTDigger
The Legislature is out of session, so my best wishes to the year-round residents and workers in Montpelier today.
In one theory, the verb "gawk" originates from the Old Norse gá, “to heed.”
Despite the negative connotation associated with gawking, the Scandinavian origins point to a positive side of the act of visually taking in a tragedy.
I hope Halifax never sees another Tropical Storm Irene again. But if we do, and more likely when we do, we'll be more prepared because we'll remember the lessons of the August 2011 storm.
The next morning after Irene passed, our rivers had receded to a level that was kind of normal. It would be so easy to forget how high the water had been just 24 hours before. It would be so hard to describe to someone who wasn't there.
Perhaps taking in photos and stories from tragedies helps impress on our minds how quickly the world around us can change.
That, and lasting memorials like the flood lines in Wilmington. Congratulations to the citizens who spoke up and preserved this tradition.
Anyway, let me know if you are safe, or in need of help, or for that matter, anything.
P.S. I took this photo, from a very safe distance, of the Whetstone in downtown Brattleboro yesterday. That corkscrew wave crashing down into the Connecticut was something to behold.