HURRICANE IRENE UPDATE 4

[Nick Daniels]

HURRICANE IRENE UPDATE 4 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

August 28, 2011

William J. Fraser, City Manager

5:00 PM

Conditions have worsened since the last update. Montpelier is up to 4 inches of rain already with 1-2 inches more to come. Rain is expected to remain heavy for the next one to two hours and then taper off very quickly. High winds will continue for 3-4 hours after the rain stops.

Flooding in the Winooski is a virtual certainty. National Weather Service projections now range as high as 18 feet which exceeds the May levels. Other projections put as at about the same level as May.

The river is currently at 11 feet which is called action stage. If they haven’t already, basements will begin flooding at any time. We expect to reach flood stage in the next 2 hours with the crest occurring between 2 AM and 4 AM. Water is likely to remain above flood stage until mid day on Monday.

Gallison Hill Road is now closed at the section where the culvert washed out in May. Some signs of washout and culvert failures are showing on North Park Drive, Terrace Street and Taplin Street. In general, storm drain systems are beginning to be overwhelmed and backing up city wide.

With increasing washouts and drain backups, vehicular travel is getting more unsafe. Please stay off of the roads. We have observed much more traffic than we would expect in severe storm conditions.