Aid Workers Reach Vermont Towns Cut Off by Floodwaters.

'The 13 towns that had been isolated are: Cavendish; Granville; Hancock; Killington; Mendon; Marlboro; Pittsfield; Plymouth; Rochester; Stockbridge; Strafford; Stratton; and Wardsboro.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/us/01flood.html?_r=1&hp

13 towns cut off? that's in MODERN AMERICA folks...what say you about INFRASTRUCTURE needing to be re-inforced?
Climate driven disasters are going to get stronger, there another reason to add to the list...

I don;t have TV/cable...is the MSM covering the plight of these people as much as they were the hype? probably not...they have moved on to the "it was over hyped and Obama wasted money and resources" meme...

fucking sad.

I've never thought that my hometown of Halifax would make it into the news.. but rt 112, which they've decided to shut now, runs thru halifax. That's a route up from MA (Greenfield) and into S. VT. Jacksonville is a mess, Wilmington is just astoundingly horrible, Townsend had the river literally run straight thru the center of town and ripped it to pieces. I'm hearing get reports from my mom and sister everyday. My sister didn't have power for 3 days.. and there's no telling when she will get her phone back. The phone line runs through Stamford. She's 7 mod pregnant; I don't like her being cut off like that. Also, they made a campaign pledge that by 2010, all communities in VT would have access to cell service. The Govenor was tweeting info out, yet, many people like my mom, still has no tower. She said people are worried about the "ugly" look of the towers for tourists, blah, blah, blah.. I told her, no, tourists are more pissed when they lose their cell service driving thru town after town. She also doesn't have access to cable. She has a sat dish, but without competition, the internet service is extremely expensive. She has no cell access and no access, other than the elementary school she works at in town, to access high speed internet. She's hoping the "re-build" maybe will help high-light the need to upgrade the technology needs of these small towns.

She would love to have an iPad to utilize at her home and be able to video-chat with her grandson and myself in FL. Its pretty crazy how far behind in technology that American's don't have access to in these times. Another negative for the private companies that don't want to invest the company money in rural areas. It takes longer to re-coup a profit off of the work required to run cable lines or pop up towers in rural mountainous areas.

but we have areas here in the sierras that are like that too (and without DSL or cell svc, mostly because of remoteness...)...I live in what would be considered a city up here, but we get cut off by mudslides, snow and the like...also have our share of fires.

I am sending prayers for your family and especially your sister. Keep us posted :hug:

started faster than the boneheads in Washington can decide on propping up FEMA. Don't get me wrong, the National Guard is a huge help. The sewer was flooded out during the storm in a few of these towns; Wilmington, in particular... So, its a noxious amount of fumes from the sewer and the propane (so many propane tanks were ripped off the sides of homes.. now spilled out into the area.) So people are wearing gloves and face masks. Who knows if that's really enough? Hoping that everyone doesn't start coming down with "Irene sickness" after the cleanup because no one has thought about the toxic environmental issues. To assist in flood relief efforts: http://www.wilmingtonvtfloodrelief.com/ Also to donate to the Vermont Foodbank, text FOODNOW to 52000. $10.00 worth of a donation will buy $60.00 worth of food.

It is harvest time up there. So many fields are under water. The season lost. The milk cows stranded in fields or barns flooded out along with their grain and food supplies. VT is so rural. Not many have lots of money (maybe the seasonal home owners). There isn't one person I know up there who doesn't have several hats they where. My sister and mom are school teachers. They tutor in the summer, work at a tourist shop during the summer and weekends, my sister picks up special events (not now of course) at the local ski mountain. AND my mom works cleaning vacation homes for some extra under table money. My dad works at the mountain and doing odd jobs here and there. My sister's husband has his own car garage and during the winter, works at the ski mountain. AND most everyone is like that. Wearing a few hats at once to make it all happen. Now, that so many of these small shops and restaurants are effected, and roads/ bridges impassible, its going to take a huge financial tole on an area that already piece meals together their incomes.