These photos taken when all the bridges and roads that were washed away along the route that leads to my summer home, give an idea of the extent of some of the damage sustained in Southern Vermont. Gentle bubbling brooks turned into raging rivers that swept along enormous bolders, silt and dirt. The dirt roads developed deep gullies and shrank to half their width; asphalt roads had huge chunks torn away or were reduced to rubble. Pastures and fields vanished, submerged by water, mud and debris. Historic covered bridges swayed and then suddenly dropped from sight, engulfed by the powerful currents.
Had I remained on "my mountain top," I would have been marooned, cut off from "civilization" for three to four days, without power or telephone service. Fortunately, I had gone to Wellesley for my Japanese daughter's wedding! Vermonters are hardy folks. The display of fortitude in the face of indescribable destruction has been inspiring. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and pitched in to help out neighbors in every possible way, from providing food, clothing, or shelter to those who lost their homes altogether or were flooded out. The road crews have been amazing, working around the clock to carry away staggering amounts of debris, fallen trees, mammouth piles of rocks and to construct new bridges and rebuild roads.
Vermont hasn't experienced floods of this magnitude since 1927. The power of Mother Nature leaves one virtually speechless, but the ingenuity and fighting spirit of those affected restore one's respect for individuals and faith in communities. From all I have observed, the material losses, no matter how devastating, have simply heightened the appreciation for the most basic and precious values: life itself, support of friends and strangers, rallying of entire communities, human generosity and the power of personal and collective resilience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0srKMZN5tTc
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