Vermont man drowns at home as flooding claims first victim with more rain predicted – The Independent

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The towns of Londonderry and Weston remained largely inaccessible on Wednesday
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Vermont authorities confirmed the first flood-related death following catastrophic rain on Wednesday.
Some 117 rescues were made in Vermont as the towns of Londonderry and Weston remained largely inaccessible. Officials were beginning to assess how many homes had been destroyed and what the financial cost would be from damaged roads, bridges and railways.
Vermont Emergency Management confirmed on Thursday that 63-year-old Stephen Davoll died as a result of a drowning incident in his home on Wednesday. It is the first death linked to the historic floodings in the state.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared the floodings a “1-in-1,000-year weather event” caused by the climate crisis, after a woman died in the Empire State when she was swept away while trying to escape her home with her dog.
Vermont Governor Phil Scott said at a news conference that thunderstorms were expected to move into parts of the state by Thursday night, which could cause more flash flooding.
“The period we are more concerned about is Sunday because that could be more widespread and heavier, but not nearly on the scale of what we saw earlier in the week,” National Weather Service meteorologist Seth Kutikoff also said.
Andrew Brewer, a resident of Montpelier and former business owner on Langdon Street, helps wash away the mud from the sidewalk
A person bikes around downtown once flood waters receded
In an aerial view, a kayaker paddles through the flooded waters of Elm Street
Bailey Road, a clothing and home goods store on Main Street, was left severely damaged from flood waters
Officials in the Vermont city of Montpelier warned residents to beware of potential sinkholes as flood waters recede and saturated ground settles.
“Sinkholes can develop fast and without warning. Do not walk or drive around closed roads or barricades. Please also obey traffic signals and be on the lookout for deep potholes filled with water that may damage or incapacitate your vehicle,” the city said.
A man walks down street flooded by recent rain storms in Montpelier, Vermont
Residents in Vermont are returning home to find their houses and belongings damaged after severe flooding left the capital city Montpelier as a swirling, brown waterway.
One resident posted a video of their front yard with the entry door blocked with mud and stones and car stuck.
A prolonged heat wave blanketed a swath of the US stretching from California to South Florida on Wednesday, with forecasters expecting temperatures that could shatter records in parts of the Southwest in the coming days.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat advisories, watches and warnings for areas where about 100 million Americans live. The sweltering conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend and continue into next week.
While stifling temperatures have gripped many parts of the country, Vermont and other Northeastern states barely have had time to recover from historic flooding in recent days when the National Weather Service forecast more heavy rainfall across parts of New England in the coming days, where rivers and streams are already running high.
Jodi Kelly, left, practice manager at Stonecliff Veterinary Surgical Center, behind, and her husband, veterinarian Dan Kelly, use a canoe to remove surgical supplies from the flood-damaged centre
The southern parts of the US is bracing for potentially deadly heat with much of the area under an excessive heat warning.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat advisories, watches and warnings for areas where about 100 million Americans live. The sweltering conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend and continue into next week.
Meteorologist Colin McCarthy warned on Twitter that Death Valley, one of the hottest places on the planet, can see temperatures “soar up to 131F (55C), which, if recorded by a weather station, would be the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth”.
The records show Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley recording a temperature of 134.1F (56.7C) in July 1913, which is considered the highest temperature recorded on Earth, however, that reading has been under question by scientists with several meteorological experts asserting that there were irregularities.
Extreme weather also threatened the Chicago area, where at least eight tornadoes touched down in four counties in northeastern Illinois.
One tornado touched down near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday evening, prompting passengers to take shelter and disrupting hundreds of flights. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
A confirmed tornado was on the ground around 7pm, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago.
“This tornado has been touching the ground intermittently so far and is moving east. There are additional circulations along the line south of O’Hare. Seek shelter if in the warned area,” it said.
As deadly heat engulfs southern US, the temperatures across the Mediterranean are also set to break records.
The temperature of the ground in some areas of Spain has hit more than 60C during the deadly heatwave sweeping Europe, satellite recordings have shown.
It was so hot that a heat map that highlights scorching temperatures in red turned even darker – to black.
Temperature records have been broken on most of the continent, including France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy, where highs of 40C were recorded again on Wednesday.
Read more:
Ground so hot that fiery red areas on map turn black
In 2023 so far, the US has faced “12 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters,” according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The US government’s climate and environment body said that June 2023 was record hot for some parts of the US, while other locations were roiled by severe weather and poor air quality.
So far, the average temperature for the contiguous US was 49.2 degrees F, (1.7 degrees above the 20th-century average), ranking as the 21st-warmest year based on the data of first six months.
Till 11 July, there have been 12 confirmed climate disaster events, NOAA said, with losses exceeding $1 billion each.
Chart from NOAA shows 12 confirmed climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1bn each to affect United State
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A still from drone footage of city blocks flooded in Montpelier, Vermont
PAUL RICHARDSON/STORYWORKZ
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