Flash flooding in Rutland on Friday afternoon forced around 20 residents to evacuate their homes as streets around the city became inundated with water.
Mayor Mike Doenges urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel until conditions improved. “We’ve got a significant amount of roads that are closed,” he told VTDigger.
As of 6 p.m., 14 residents, along with some pets, had been evacuated from Clover Street, the mayor said.
By late Friday, that number had risen to around 20, said Mark Bosma, spokesman for Vermont Emergency Management, in an email to VTDigger.
The flooding was caused by torrential rain that at one point was falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches an hour. After receiving around an inch of rain Friday morning, Rutland got another 2 to 3 inches in the afternoon, according to Jessica Neiles, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Burlington office.
“There’s a ton of flooding issues right now,” she said.
In total, the city received 3.68 inches of rain on Friday, according to a storm report issued late that evening from the weather service.
Friday’s flooding hit Rutland the day after parts of Addison County were slammed with up to 6 inches of rain — causing significant damage in Middlebury, Ripton, Hancock and elsewhere.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed drivers slowly moving through flooded streets in the city, including on U.S. Route 7. In a press release, Vermont State Police asked truckers to avoid using that highway while traveling north and to seek alternate routes.
“We’ve got some roads that are impassable and some that are really wet,” Doenges said. “It’s a scene right now.”
In a tweet late Friday, Gov. Phil Scott said Rutland was “experiencing significant flooding.”
“Do not attempt to drive through or cross flood waters,” he wrote. “The road underneath could be washed out. Be cautious. The State Emergency Operations Center continues to coordinate response efforts.”
Stratton Road and South Main, Clover and West streets were all closed due to flooding, according to the weather service.
No injuries were immediately reported, but in addition to the evacuations the heavy rain was also causing basements to flood in some areas of the city, including Church and Center streets, Doenges said.
A person who answered the phone at the Rutland Fire Department late Friday said Chief William Lovett was not available and that others at the station were too busy to talk.
Alderman Michael Talbott wrote in a Facebook post late Friday that the American Red Cross was setting up a shelter at Rutland High School for displaced residents.
