Rising waters along the Winooski River have prompted most public safety officials to leave the State Emergency Operations Center in Waterbury, according to Vermont Emergency Management spokesperson Mark Bosma.
“The water was rising in Waterbury and there was some concern that our staff wouldn’t be able to get home, so we broke a little earlier than we’d planned,” he said.
A couple of officials remained at the center as of 5:30 p.m., Bosma said, but expected to leave within the hour. Those who typically work out of the center — including representatives of the Department of Public Safety, Agency of Transportation, Vermont National Guard and National Weather Service — expect to work remotely overnight.
Officials plan to reconvene Tuesday in another location, Bosma said, though a decision about where has not been finalized.
Earlier Monday, roughly three dozen people were working out of the center. The energy in the room was busy, but not frantic, as VTDigger reported at the time.
The emergency operations center is located in the Waterbury State Office Complex, not far from the banks of the Winooski River. The complex was heavily damaged during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, but state officials opted to rebuild in the same location.
Bosma said that, due to improvements made to the complex after Irene, the building in which the operations center is located is not likely to be damaged by this storm.
