A homeowner scrambles to hold back the water in Plattsburg
Vermont transportation workers fight to save a vital road link to Grand Isle and New York
(05/06/11) Over the last week, some parts of the region have seen flash floods and the sudden collapse of bridges and roadways.
But along the 600-mile shoreline of Lake Champlain, the water's rise has been a kind of slow and unstoppable force.
The lake reached another record level yesterday, more than three feet above flood stage.
That has triggered what the National Weather Service described as "widespread heavy flooding."
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin declared a state of emergency yesterday after flying over the lake in a helicopter.
Brian Mann traveled the shoreline in New York and Vermont yesterday and has our story.
I'm passing through a flooded section of street where they're pumping al electrical substation that they have sandbagged. All along here water on the highway, this section of Margaret Street and Rt. 9 is closed to general traffic.
"We've been flooded out since Monday and that's when they turned the power out," said Judy Mitchell who lives in a townhouse here in Plattsburgh. She moved in with her sister, but now the
lake has risen at her sister’s place as well and volunteer crews are building a
sandbag levee.
"The workers who have been there through the day say we will probably have sandbags on the property until at least mid-July."
Rick Perry stands nearby.
He’s building inspector for the city of Plattsburgh.
"We’re seeing a lake level that’s at unprecedented
levels. Nowhere has it every been
documented that the lake level has been at 103.21, which is where it’s at
today. We have seen compromise in sea walls right from Georgia Pacific in the south all the way to the city beach.
I'm at the Plattsburgh Civic Center, which has been converted into a Red Cross shelter. Harvey Blanchard has been staying here since Saturday evening.
"These people have been great. The good is good," he said.
But he says he doesn't know what will happen next, or when he might be able to return home.
"I don't know. I feel like I'm in the dark. They say it will probably take a couple of weeks for the water to recede...they might even condemn the place."
At the ferry docks near Plattsburgh and on Grand Isle, workers have built levies and layered gravel on top of the roads to keep cars above the lake water.
Vermont Transportation crews have also used backhoes and dumptruck loads of rock to try to maintain the causeways that lead to the Champlain Islands.
On both sides of the lake, marinas, shorefront restaurants, hotels, and other businesses have been hard hit.
"We've talked to a number of businesses and they're still trying to assess what impact [the flood] has had on them both in the short and long term," said Tim Shay vice president of the Lake Champlain
Regional Chamber of Commerce.
He says
businesses on both sides of the lake are still hoping to pivot from this
disaster in time for the region’s tourism season.
"We're looking forward to a strong visitor season...and hoping we can help the businesses minimize the impact and look forward to a dryer summer," Shay said.
But part’s of the Lake Champlain coast are so transformed by
the flood that it’s hard to imagine getting back to normal any time soon.
Highways that are usually busy with cars have been reduced to muddy bogs, the sound of cars replaced by birds and lapping waves.
Repairing all these roads and bridges will cost millions of
dollars. Rick Perry, the building
inspector in Plattsburgh, says homeowners also face a long hard slog cleaning
up after the water finally recedes.
"What we're telling people right now is you have to prepare to clean and dry your home so you don't develop black mold. We don't want people getting sick after the fact."
State officials are also warning that the flooding may have
triggered oil and chemical spills.
Comment on this story
