The After Effect of Irene

Since August 28, 2011 States along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America continued to be battered by the after effects of Irene, the destructive hurricane turned tropical storm. About 2.5 million people were believed to have been left without power from North Carolina to the New England States including Vermont, and Massachusetts. More than 40 deaths were reported in thirteen states around the country.

However, one of the most affected States in the nation is Vermont where residents who in many cases, still have no power, no telephone service and no way to get in or out of their towns because of damage roads. Below is a report from the Associated Press (AP) written by one JOHN CURRAN?

Eleven towns — Cavendish, Granville, Hancock, Killington, Mendon, Marlboro, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Stockbridge, Strafford and Wardsboro — remained cut off from the outside as of late Tuesday night.
Vermont National Guard choppers made three drops in Killington-Mendon, Pittsfield and Rochester Tuesday while 10 other towns received truck deliveries of food, blankets, tarps and water.

Residents stand on line waiting for food in Vermont

Eight Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters from the Illinois National Guard are expected to arrive Wednesday to bolster the number of flights.
Up to 11 inches of rain triggered the deluges, which knocked houses off their foundations, destroyed covered bridges and caused earthquake-style damage to infrastructure all over the state. Three people were killed and a fourth is still missing.

About 260 roads in Vermont were closed because of storm damage, along with about 30 highway bridges. Only a handful of them have been reopened.
Vermont Deputy Transportation Secretary Sue Minter said the infrastructure damage was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

A bridge washed away in Vermont

Residents trapped in inaccessible communities used cell phones and computers to reach out to others.
"As soon as we can get help, we need help," resident Liam McKinley said by cell phone from a mountain above flood-stricken Rochester on Tuesday. He said the town's restaurants and a supermarket were giving food away rather than let it spoil, and townspeople were helping each other.
"We've been fine so far. The worst part is not being able to communicate with the rest of the state and know when people are coming in," McKinley said.

Wendy Pratt, another of the few townspeople able to communicate with the outside world, posted an update on Facebook using a generator and a satellite Internet connection. She sketched a picture of both devastation and New England neighborliness.

"People have lost their homes, their belongings, businesses ... the cemetery was flooded and caskets were lost down the river. So many areas of complete devastation," Pratt wrote. "In town there is no cell service or internet service - all phones in town are out. We had a big town meeting at the church at 4 this afternoon to get any updates."

In Woodstock, Vt., Michael Ricci spent the day clearing debris from his backyard along the Ottauquechee River. What had been a meticulously mowed, sloping grass lawn and gorgeous flower beds was now a muddy expanse littered with debris, including wooden boards, propane tanks and a deer hunting target.
"The things we saw go down the river were just incredible," Ricci said, “Sheds, picnic tables, propane tanks, furnaces, refrigerators. We weren't prepared for that. We had prepared for wind and what we ended up with was more water than I could possibly, possibly have imagined." He said the water in his yard was almost up to the house, or about 15 to 20 feet above normal.