As Vermont recovers from Hurricane Beryl, the Red Cross is there

By Jennifer Costa, regional communications director

“I’ve never seen flooding like that.”

Roy Nichols recounts water rising

Roy Nichols of Lyndonville, Vermont has seen his share of storms in the Green Mountains. He says nothing compares to what happened to his hometown on July 11. He woke up to about two feet of standing water around his home, car and motorcycle. He remembers looking to the sky. It had stopped raining, so he thought the worst of the flooding had passed.

“And then all of a sudden the water started to rise like somebody just opened up Lake Memphremagog,” he says. “I watched the water come up and up and up and way up. I kept gaining higher ground from the porch to the porch railing, to the next highest porch railing and then just sat there on this narrow railing hanging on a post, watching trees go down the river, gas cans, garbage cans, coolers – you name it, it went floating down stream.”

Inside Roy’s apartment things were floating too … his refrigerator, his bed and most of his belongings. Over the next 12 hours he watched as the water crested and finally receded revealing a mucky mess of destruction.

“During Irene the waterline was two-and-a-half feet up my door. This one came up about four feet. So, it beat Irene.”

His soggy home was not habitable. All the area hotels were either full or flooded. So, Roy decided to seek refuge at a Red Cross shelter in Lyndonville. And while it was not home, having a dry place to sleep and warm meals to eat, Roy simply says, “It’s been helpful.” 

“The devastation is just really amazing when you look at bridges that are wiped out; culverts piled with debris. It’s amazing what water can do.”

Pete Basiliere is a volunteer from Milford, New Hampshire. He’s been with the Red Cross for a year-and-a-half, yet this is his second deployment to Vermont. He was one of 315 trained disaster responders who helped Vermonters through catastrophic flooding last July – and felt drawn to return for this anniversary storm.

“For the individuals affected, it’s just as bad this year as it was last year. We’ve already encountered numerous people who were hurt by the floods last year that have come back for round two exactly one year later,” he says. 

Pete Basiliere

Pete was in a Red Cross pick-up truck delivering clean-up kits and emergency supplies to several of the hardest-hit towns, including Lyndonville and Johnson. And when he wasn’t busy with those supply runs, he was on a feeding mission – delivering meals to devastated communities like Plainfield. 

That’s where we met Paula Emery. 

“It’s hard – and, at times, it’s overwhelming,” she says. “But it feels like this high-speed adrenaline, all-hands-on-deck feeling.You don’t have access to sad feelings when that’s going on.” 

While Paula was spared, many of her neighbors were not as lucky. She’s been spending her days helping any way she can – and that included taking Red Cross meals to those consumed by the clean-up efforts. 

Paula Emery

“I just want to say thank you and I’m just so grateful that you guys are here. I took the breakfast sandwiches on my bike and brought them around to people and they were super grateful because they were already working,” she explains. “We’re taking the bag lunches across the river to the people over there and to the road crews because people aren’t stopping.”

About 10 miles south in Barre, clean-up efforts were well underway too. This is a community still recovering from last year’s storm. Resident Russel Masi had a front row seat to both extreme weather events. This is the picture he painted for this storm…

“It washed down like a raging river, coming down Maple Avenue from Hope Cemetery,” he says. “I’ve never had a river right next to my street before. My boy was saying, ‘Dad, there’s a river down here.’ And there was a river alright. It wiped us right out.”

Russel knows he got lucky. This time, his sump pump is pushing water out of his basement, while his neighbors deal with flood waters rushing right through their front doors.

Russel Masi

“The neighborhood is positive. We are remaining constructive. We are just pulling together saying, ‘Well, here it is again.’”

Russel is thankful for his tight-knit neighborhood. He says they’re all pooling resources to help one another out. We met him at a Red Cross pop-up supply distribution site. He was picking up a couple cases of water, garbage bags and other clean-up supplies. 

“I tried to go buy trash bags, but I couldn’t find any anywhere,” he says. “So, it’s amazing. It’s awesome. That’s why I stopped by, to be humble and ask. It’s what this community is about.”

Community. It’s also what drew Pete to the Red Cross in the first place. Neighbors not only helping neighbors, but strangers too – the ability to be someone’s beacon of hope during their darkest hour. For Peter, that’s why he continues to put on his red vest storm after storm.

“I’ve always been involved with helping folks in my hometown. And the Red Cross gave me the opportunity to assist people in the immediate aftermath of a disaster regardless of where they are in the country. So, I’m certainly not a first responder, but I love the role of a second responder, if you will, with the Red Cross.”

Since the start of the disaster relief operation in Vermont, the Red Cross has:

• deployed 88 trained Red Cross disaster workers the help
• served 2,870 meals and 718 snacks
• distributed 455 clean-up kits and 2,814 other emergency supply items
• supported 3 emergency shelters
• conducted 263 residential damage assessments, where at least 92 homes were destroyed or suffered major damage
• staffed State Flood Recovery Centers with caseworkers to provide financial assistance to qualified individuals
  

As climate disasters continue to worsen, families are counting on all of us to be there for them as they face the impact of more intense, extreme weather-related events. You can help. 

• Please click, text or call to support Red Cross Disaster Relief and help people affected by disasters. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.
• VOLUNTEER TODAY The Red Cross is seeking new volunteers who are team-oriented and want to make an immediate difference. Visit redcross.org/volunteertoday to sign up.