Flash Floods
Hit Three Towns
By Martha Slater

High water came up suddenly Wednesday morning and caused all kinds of problems for people in Hancock, Granville and Rochester.

As the Herald was going to press, 2-4 inches of heavy rain had caused rivers and streams to roar out of their banks and flood roads and fields in the three valley towns.

Route 125 between Hancock and East Middlebury was closed and residents of Tucker Hill Road in Hancock were evacuated because of the high water. Parts of Route 100 were also flooded.

In Hancock at one point, the water covered Route 100 from its intersection with Rte. 125, all the way south to the former Hancock Plywood mill. The Red Cross set up an emergency shelter for those who were displaced. The bridge at the 125/100 intersection was closed to traffic and several other bridges were also washed out around town.

Trucks and personnel from the Hancock Fire Dept. and swift water rescue crews, including one from Colchester Water Rescue, were called in to help.

Hancock postmaster Kay Bussiere said that by mid-morning, the river had come up right through the back yard of the post office. When she spoke with The Herald around noon, she said the water had receded quite a bit, and there were "chunks of firewood everywhere—all over the road and in people’s yards."

At Camp Killooleet on Rte. 125, which lies alongside and close to the raging brook, about 90 campers and 50 staff were present at the time. Camp Co-director Dean Spencer confirmed early in the afternoon that all campers and staff were "fine."

He noted that the footbridge into the camp from Rte. 125 had washed away and although the dam at the camp pond held, water had eroded around to the side of the dam, and the whole pond emptied out and washed over the road.

Some of the cabins had been completely surrounded by water, but appeared to be relatively unscathed. There was also some damage to buildings and trees were down.

"We’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do," Spencer said.

Diane Isaacson of the Vermont Home Bakery on Rte. 125 reported that "the water went up to the yellow line on Rte. 125, but didn’t come into our basement."

Around 2 p.m., an employee at Hubbard’s Store on Rte. 125 told The Herald that, "It was raining hard around 8 this morning, when all of a sudden, the river just came up over the embankment and washed over the bridge. Everything that people own has been coming down the river. You can’t get past our store and we’re stuck where we are. The store has a lot of water damage in the basement and our propane tank went down the river."

Also on Route 100, Airport Flats in Granville and Martin Flats in Rochester were under water for a time, and crews from CVPS were checking the substation by the town garage.

In Rochester, water filled the fields up to the back of the school and damage was reported in the Bingo Brook Road area.

"It came up so fast! It was like a matter of a half an hour," said Erin Merrill, who lives on Route 100, about a quarter mile south of the entrance to the Rochester School. Around noon, she reported that the water was all the way up to her house and her husband, Gordon, was outside trying to disconnect their propane tank. "Our hot tub just floated by!" she said in amazement.

North of Rochester village on Bean’s Bridge Rd, just off Rte. 100, the home of Tim and Mary Sue Crowley and their three children was totally surrounded by water from the White River.

"It the worst I’ve seen it since we bought the house in 1987," Mary Sue reported at about 2 p.m. "The road is gone on both sides of us and the water came right up to out porch and ran through our garage. Our horses had to swim to safety, it came up so quick. All kinds of debris has been floating past, including propane tanks, large trees, and the Lions Club picnic area shed.

At press time, although there was significant damage from the flood water, there were no reports of injuries.