(Host) The catastrophic flooding that Tropical Storm Irene swept across Vermont has been historic.
Scott Whittier of the National Weather Service says the only floods that compare over the past century were 1973 and the monumental flood of 1927.
Whittier says the Irene floods will be mentioned in the same context in the future.
Rescue missions were staged towns all across the state. Wilmington essentially became an island as a branch of the raging Deerfield River swept through.
Rescuers were hindered by the flooding. Swift water rescue teams tried to get to problems areas only to be turned back when even their own heavy equipment couldn’t get through.
A dozen or more state highway bridges across the state have been washed away and many more town bridges were damaged.
The number of roads that were closed continued to climb as the storm made its way south to north.
The closures were in every region of the state.