A newly-engaged woman was killed when a monster flash flood wave ripped her house in New York out of the ground – as Vermont is set to be battered with up to six inches of rainfall by Tuesday morning.
Pamela Nugent, 35, drowned while trying to flee her home in Highland Falls, New York, with her dog Monday during the catastrophic flooding.
Rescue teams recovered her body from the bottom of a ravine after she was swept away by the sheer force of the water.
It comes as the devastating downpours blocked roads and battered homes across the East Coast, with more havoc expected to hit in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
President Biden declared a state of emergency in Vermont and ordered Federal aid to bolster local rescue efforts after the U.S Army Corps of Engineers said late Monday they expected two dams to release water overnight, causing ‘severe flooding’ downstream likely to affect multiple towns.
‘Dangerous, widespread flash flooding from excessive rainfall is expected across New England through Tuesday morning. Highest risk for Vermont with expected impacts to transit routes,’ the National Weather Service warned.
Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue said crews from North Carolina, Michigan and Connecticut were among those helping to get to towns that have been unreachable since torrents of rain belted the state.
The towns of Londonderry and Weston were inaccessible, Cannon said, and rescuers were heading there to do welfare checks.
Pamela Nugent, 35, drowned while trying to flee her home in Highland Falls with her dog on Monday during the catastrophic flooding
An aerial view of Pamela Nugent’s neighborhood, where she was killed in flooding yesterday
Vermont State Police have warned that flooding and torrential rain will cause havoc in the state overnight on Monday
Nugent – who was recently engaged to her partner before she drowned in the horrific flooding – was remembered by her neighbor Jessica Eshleman.
‘I’m still kind of in shock. I lost everything,’ Eshleman told ABC7. She added that Nugent, her fiancée and her dad tried to get to higher ground.
‘And then they made it across, and I guess she freaked out and panicked, she tried to make it across with the dog, it just happened too suddenly.’
Another neighbor who knew Nugent said: ‘When anybody dies, it’s a shame. The circumstances of how it happened, that makes it even worse.’
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said: ‘She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog and she was overwhelmed by tidal wave-type waves.’
The lashing rains of the storm soaked New on Sunday, causing flash flooding near West Point, where the US Military Academy is based, and surrounding towns.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned as the storm had passed, the damage was catastrophic.
‘This was a frightening, life-threatening experience,’ she said, adding that the storm sent ‘cars swirling in our streets’ and dumped a ‘historic’ amount of rain.
‘Nine inches of rain in this community,’ Hochul said during a briefing on a muddy street in Highland Falls. ‘They’re calling this a ”1,000 year event”.’
She said about Nugent: ‘Her house was taking too much water, she was with her dog and her fiancé literally saw her swept away.’
Private forecaster AccuWeather has since estimated damages and economic losses as a result of the floods currently stand at $3bn to $5bn.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said about Nugent: ‘Her house was taking too much water, she was with her dog and her fiancé literally saw her swept away’
Pamela Nugent with her fiancé. He watched her get swept away in the ordeal
A damaged car lays on part of a collapsed Route 32 in the Hudson Valley near Cornwall, New York on Monday
Jessica Eshleman, neighbor and friend of Pam Nugent spoke about her final moments
Millions of people across New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine and Pennsylvania remain subject to flash flood warnings as storms continue to soak the Northeast.
The epicenter of the flooding was in Hudson Valley, New York, on Monday, but going into Tuesday, Vermont is expected to be hit harder.
Vermont State Police said in an alert: ‘Dangerous flooding is continuing this afternoon throughout most of Vermont.
‘Almost three dozen state roads are closed due to high water, and additional closures are possible as rivers and streams continue to rise. This figure does not include town roads.’
Footage from Monday showed Ludlow, Vermont, seemingly underwater as the roads turned to rivers amid the devastating torrent.
The Vermont Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management stated swift water rescue teams have been working ‘primarily in the towns of Londonderry, Weston, Bridgewater, Andover, Ludlow and Middlesex.’
Rivers are expected to crest overnight at flood levels, they warned.
Dams in Jamaica and Townshend are expected to ‘release large quantities of water over their spillways’ overnight.
Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser estimated Monday night that knee-high waters had reached much of downtown and were expected to rise a couple more feet during the night. Montpelier had largely been spared during Tropical Storm Irene, which struck the region in 2011.
‘For us, this is far worse than Irene. We got water but it went up and down. There were some basements flooded but it didn’t last long,’ Fraser said, comparing this flooding to the Montpelier Ice Jams in 1992. ‘We are completely inundated. The water is way, way higher than it ever got during Irene.’
During Irene, Vermont got 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain in 24 hours. Irene killed six in the state, washed homes off their foundations and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 kilometers) of highway.
‘This is an all-hands-on-deck’ event, Vermont governor Phil Scott told a news conference.
Cars drift on the main road into West Point after a ‘1000 year’ rain event drowned the riverside town, leaving at least one dead and destroying homes and roads
Emergency teams went house to house yesterday in Stony Point, New York, looking for anyone who needed to be rescued. One woman drowned trying to leave her home with her dog in Highland Falls, near West Point
Flooding surrounds a parking lot, in Highland Falls, Orange County, New York. The rain has passed the Empire State but the damage is widespread
In a grave prediction, the National Weather Service in Vermont said the storms could be ‘potentially catastrophic’ and as bad as those brought by Hurricane Irene in 2011.
‘Expect significant to potentially catastrophic widespread flash flooding through Monday evening, with possible impacts not seen since Irene,’ the Weather Service said in a forecast.
Vermont State Police say roads were closed as a result of the flooding, with more expected.
‘Serious, life-threatening flooding is occurring today across much of Vermont.
‘Emergency crews have conducted rescues in multiple communities.
‘Flash flood warnings are in effect from the Massachusetts line to the Canadian border,’ an announcement on the force’s Twitter account said.
At a press conference, Vermont Governor Phil Scott warned: ‘We have not seen rainfall like this since Irene and in some cases it will surpass that.’
Nineteen people have been rescued by boat in Vermont already.
In Burlington, Vermont, the ground has already received 300 percent of its normal rainfall in the last two weeks – making it ‘high risk.’
Some towns in south Londonderry and Ludlow were inaccessible, as is the town of Vermont.
Footage showed Ludlow, Vermont, completely under water as the roads turned to rivers amid the devastating torrent
A general view of a flooded area, in Ludlow, Vermont
On Sunday in New York, Cornwall, which is on the western shore of the Hudson River, also declared a State of Emergency.
Neuhaus said the village of Highland Falls, near West Point, was the scene of ‘an absolute war zone.’
Predicting that repairs to fix the ‘massive’ water damage would take months, he added; ‘It’s a tough situation, lots of people are trying to fight their way in to help us.’
State Senator James Skoufis confirmed that ‘vital infrastructure and homes were washed away,’ during the catastrophic weather event.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day said six hikers had to be rescued from the surrounding, flooded location – as well as dozens of drivers – who got caught in the intense downpours.
Day said: ‘Orange County and Rockland county fire depts rescued 40 people from their cars at the long mountain circle at the top of the palisades parkway.’
