Flood warnings remained active Tuesday morning for communities in Caledonia, Essex and Orleans counties.
"Ten swiftwater rescue teams were dispatched to the area overnight and have conducted approximately two dozen rescues from flooded areas. Those teams are still in the area to respond to potential additional calls for assistance," Vermont Emergency Management wrote in a press release Tuesday morning, referencing specifically Caledonia and Essex counties.
Pete Banacos, science and operations officer at the Burlington office, called the event "very localized," unloading torrential rain for about 6 hours starting near midnight.
Observers noted 8.4 inches of rain just north of St. Johnsbury, more than 7 inches in Island Pond, over 6 inches in Morgan Center and almost 5.5 inches in East Burke.
Banacos called the precipitation "extreme."
"Just off the charts to see that kind of rainfall in 6 hours," he said.
In an interview Tuesday morning, St. Johnsbury Fire Chief Bradley Reed called the storm "without a doubt worse" than the July 10 flooding.
"Everything hit so fast, water rescue teams were en route but they hadn't arrived yet," he said.
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, emergency responders couldn't yet access parts of town due to road washouts and bridge failures, according to Reed. He said there was some overlap with the storm earlier this month, though some new areas were affected and other places were spared.
People in need of shelter should head to the St. Johnsbury Welcome Center, Reed said, adding that plans are underway for a longer-term shelter elsewhere.
St. Johnsbury residents were being asked to conserve water as of 11 a.m., according to VT-Alert, with water shut off to some parts of town.
In Lyndon, Fire Chief Jeff Corrow said he was taken by surprise when his pager went off around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.
"The smaller streams took it hard," Corrow said, describing the flooding as "completely different" than that of July 10. "These things are like little ankle streams any other times of the day."
A half dozen homes were destroyed, according to the fire chief, and the department recommended people living in about 20 others seek higher ground.
"The dark was our enemy to begin with. It's hard to do what we do in the dark," Corrow recalled. As of noon, some parts of town remained inaccessible to first responders.
(More here)
Comment: In the same region about 3 weeks prior: Significant flash flooding leaves at least 2 dead in Vermont as Beryl's remnants pound New England - over 6 inches of rain in 24 hours