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Stories and Content
- Irene a Year Later
- The year in retrospect through personal stories
- Town by Town
- We update the impact of Irene on some of the hardest hit towns
- Then & Now
- Photo Gallery of Irene devastation then and a year later
- Videos
- Videos of the flood and updates a year later
- VDRF is responsible for providing financial and resource-based needs to individuals through in-kind donations, volunteer resources and fundraising for survivors who need assistance beyond what Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or insurance companies can provide. For more information, go to the web site.
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No items to displayIrene: A Year LaterNo items to displayIrene by TownIrene A Year AgoA storm that’s caused an estimated $15.8 billion in damage to states along the East Coast has... Full StoryMONTPELIER — The cloud of uncertainty surrounding federal funding for Vermont’s recovery from... Full StoryWILMINGTON — On Saturday, friends and family members of Ivana Taseva, 20, gathered at a Orthodox ... Full StoryBRATTLEBORO — It hadn’t yet begun raining when a teenager named Marble Arvidson pinned a note to ... Full StoryScott Culver of Waterbury Center proudly wears his VTrans logo shirt on his rounds improving... Full StoryVermonters are among the most generous people in the nation. That generosity reached new heights ... Full StoryWhen Hurricane Irene whipped up the eastern seaboard, she carried with her lessons that... Full StorySarah-Lee Terrat and MK Monley have become stewards of Waterbury’s recovery. Full StoryEllery Packard profile Full StoryThe only thing the chain-link backstop at Harwood Union High School’s softball field at Dac Rowe ... Full StoryOne trait underscores how business owners and landlords like Everett Coffey responded to... Full StoryIrene’s ravages were all too visible. The storm’s aftermath a year later has been less so. Full StoryIrene recovery Full StoryESSEX — A memorial service will be held for a Vermont couple who authorities say were abducted... Full StoryNearly $41 million in claims paid. Full StoryIn a public opinion survey conducted by an unidentified political campaign last month, pollsters ... Full StoryA year after his house caved in during Tropical Storm Irene, Jon Graham of Rochester is stuck... Full StoryMayor Christopher Louras discusses steering the city through Tropical Storm Irene. Full StoryStanley “Pal” Borofsky, second of three generations of family retailers at Sam’s Outdoor... Full StoryYou can thank Hurricane Katrina for Grafton’s recovery from Tropical Storm Irene. Full StoryThe Vermont National Guard was outnumbered in the days following Tropical Storm Irene, assisted... Full StoryWarterbury neighborhood says thanks to Irene volunteers Full StoryAug. 28, 2011, is a date I will never forget and that will forever be part of Vermont history. Full StoryThe covered bridge in West Arlington may be an ideal symbol for Vermont and the effects of... Full StoryRochester resident John Graham, who barely made it out of his house alive as floodwaters... Full StoryA website designed by last year's fourth graders at Cavendish Town Elementary School is... Full StoryBERLIN — Sandy Gaffney lost the first home she ever owned and most of her belongings when... Full Story
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- Our state is a different place than it was before Irene.
- With this special coverage we aim to measure the capacity of Vermonters — some extraordinary people, as well as ordinary people in extraordinary times — who have helped to make Vermont’s recovery even more historic and memorable.
- Here you will find stories of strength, determination, rebirth, rebuilding and success. You will meet some incredible Vermonters. You will discover their healing, grief and ongoing struggles.
- You also will find commentaries by three Vermonters who were instrumental in our state’s recovery, as well as brief updates from many of the hardest hit towns across the Green Mountain State.
- By all measures, we’re stronger today than ever.
Irene by the NumbersAs of June 30, 2012
Communities that were isolated: 13
Number of homes that were damaged statewide: 3,500
Number of miles of state roads damaged: 500
Number of bridges closed: 34
Miles of railway made impassable by Irene: 200
Number of people who died in Vermont as a result of Tropical Storm Irene: 6
Number of state employees who were displaced: 1,500
Of Vermont’s 251 towns, number impacted by Irene: 225
Number of towns considered to be “hard-hit”: 54
Local bridges and roads currently awaiting repair: 30
Percentage of the 3,500 damaged town-owned roads, bridges and culverts that have been re-opened: 99
FEMA grants distributed to families and individuals distributed: $22.7 million
Households awarded the maximum grant of $30,200: 220
Additional FEMA assistance granted to 86 mobile homeowners after the state was given the authority to declare them condemned: $1 million
Estimated amount of private donations to the Vermont Community Foundation from a variety of locally based Irene relief efforts: $11 million
Long Term Recovery Committees set up in the most heavily impacted areas: 9
FEMA applicants with unmet needs: 1,638
Unmet FEMA needs in Windsor County alone, the most of all the counties: $2,198,662
Vermont Strong plates sold to benefit the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund: 14,300
Funds raised from license plate sales: $160,000
Additional plates shipped to retailers around the state: 11,900
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds secured by the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: $21.7 million
Percentage of the funding that must be used in Windsor and Washington counties: 80
Affordable rental apartment buildings flooded in Brattleboro, leading to the displacement of elderly and disabled tenants: 6
Cost estimated by the Brattleboro Housing Authority to redevelop: $15 million
Real Property Verified Losses recorded by the FEMA Individuals and Households Program, representing just over 1,000 homes and businesses: $25.5 million
Increase in downtown tax credits passed by the Legislature for eligible small businesses and rental properties: $500,000
Average loan to businesses of the 294 granted by the Vermont Economic Development Authority: $56,297
Total amount of VEDA loans: $16,551,357
Small Business Administration loans approved to 140 businesses: $17.4 million
SBA loans approved by late March to businesses and individuals combined: $33 million
Funds accelerated by the State Treasurer’s Office to cash-strapped towns and schools: $155 million
Towns developing project worksheets for FEMA to rebuild damaged roads, bridges and culverts: 200
Percentage of the 2,231 completed project worksheets that include infrastructure upgrades or improvements: 23
Increase in funding in the Town Highway Structures program, provided by the passage of the Transportation Bill: $500,000
Percent reduction in the amount towns are responsible for to repair highways under the Federal Highway Emergency Relief program, another feature of the Transportation Bill: 10
Percentage state will now contribute under the amended program: 10
Initial amount allocated by the Legislature to restore and renovate Waterbury’s State Office Complex: $12 million
Stream banks and channels in need of work from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection program: 152
Sites the EWP identified as urgent: 51
Of those urgent sites, number where work has been completed: 35
Agricultural producers reporting damage to the USDA: 463
Estimated acres of land damaged, including lost crops and infrastructure, land washed away and wind damage to maple sugar woods: 9,348
Farmers awarded Vermont Community Foundation grants: 198
Total funds awarded to farmers by that committee of state and local agencies: $1.9 million (A sixth round is in progress)
Farmers reporting all storm damage repairs had been completed of 375 surveyed in May: 50
Farmers from the same survey who believe their recovery will need additional economic assistance: 46
Federal grants being distributed to repair damaged fields: $4.7 million
Percentage increase in unemployment claims from Sept. 3-10: 376
Starting Over Strong crisis counselors providing free mental health and educational services in the hardest hit areas of the states: 15
Individuals contacted through SOS door-to-door outreach: 411
Individuals served by SOS and in group educational or counseling settings: 870
Sources: Vermont Recovering Stronger Irene Recovery Status Report; Sue Minter, Vermont Recovery Officer; Shumlin administration