The WVFD was soon being flooded and needed to evacuate. From there we went to the Wallingford Rescue temporarily. The Wallingford Rotary building on Main Street was soon designated a shelter and all supplies were moved there. I helped to set up the kitchen as water soaked evacuated members of the community began to arrive. That night 14 of us slept on donated air mattresses from a community member and cots from the Red Cross. The fire fighters ate in shifts at the Rotary. Several of the evacuees helped prepare and serve the meals for the group and the fire fighters. Their courage was beyond belief as they all worked to help each other through the night not knowing if their own homes would be there for them in the morning.
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| Debris left from flooding in front of the WVFD fire house |
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| Debris became clogged near the fire house |
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| With no spare time to protect the firehouse a neighbor made gravel berms |
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| My mom just moved into this house on River Street the week before |
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| A house on River Street in Wallingford |
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| River Street in Wallingford, Vermont |
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| The water rose about three feet inside my mom's house on River Street |
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| The water line at the Wallingford Rescue the day after |
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| True Temper building in Wallingford |
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| River Street in Wallingford near True Temper |
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| View of River Street from the back steps of the Wallingford Rescue |
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| The back of the Wallingford town garage |
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| River Street the day after |
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| Anna Q's Attic in Cuttingsville |
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| What used to be lawn is now beach front property |
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| Hurricane Irene entered through the back by tearing away the wall |
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| Debris build up near John C. Stewart & Sons |
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| A piece of my wall mingles with a piece of the neighbor's fence |
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| The aftermath inside Anna Q's Attic |
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| A lone green pepper sits among the debris pile at the bridge in Cuttingsville |
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| The back yard at my shop is now prime beach front property |
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| Centerville Road in East Wallingford |
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| Looking back down Centerville Road in East Wallingford |
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| That's the cabin my mom and brothers built many years ago in the background |
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| It was a long walk home the next day for the first time since the flooding |
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| Looking up Sugar Hill Road at the top of the gulf near the culvert |
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| Looking down Sugar Hill Road at the top of the gulf near the culvert |
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| Looking up Sugar Hill Road at the bend just before the big culvert |
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| Looking down Sugar Hill Road just before the turn off |
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| Looking up Sugar Hill Road in East Wallingford |
The flooding was biblical. I live on a mountain top with no brooks nearby and even my basement had 4 inches of water in it! As for all my family and friends we are safe. I may have lost my business and others lost their homes but an episode like this has a way of putting life into perspective.
These photos are of some of the minor damage caused by Irene. In some parts of Vermont the landscape is altered drastically along with the lives of those who live here. We will repair and rebuild. Life will go on.
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