When the catastrophic flooding hit Vermont on July 10, 2023, ¶¶Òõ̽̽ community mobilized, organizing flood relief efforts, launching rapid research efforts, and helping communities across the state.
As the anniversary of the historic flood approaches, ¶¶Òõ̽̽ researchers involved in the flood response and flood research are available for media interviews.
¶¶Òõ̽̽ Launches New Water Institute
¶¶Òõ̽̽’s new Water Resources Institute (WRI) will launch on July 1, 2024, to help deliver real-world solutions to challenges spurred by climate change and extreme weather, including historic levels of flooding, harmful algal blooms, and the spread of contamination and pollution.
Contact:
- Beverley Wemple: Beverley.Wemple@uvm.edu. Director, ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Water Resources Institute, Dept. of Geography and Geosciences, Gund Institute for Environment
¶¶Òõ̽̽ Drone Team a Critical First Responder
While farm fields and some Vermont downtowns were underwater in July 2023, ¶¶Òõ̽̽’s Spatial Analysis Lab (SAL) team immediately started flying drones to determine the damage and capture high water marks. Their maps, aerial images, and captured data were used by governmental agencies and the public to document the extent of the flooding, risks to drinking water, and ultimately to help Vermont qualify for federal assistance and funding. Working with the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, data captured over their 300 drone missions during and after the flooding events were shared publicly via a web application. They are now examining how severe weather events affect river corridors and using lessons learned during the floods to inform the future of emergency responses with drones through ¶¶Òõ̽̽’s membership in the FAA’s ASSURE UAS Research Center of Excellence. Learn more about SAL's flood response.
Contact:
- Paige Brochu, SAL Director: Paige.Brochu@uvm.edu for updates on the use of SAL maps by state and community agencies and response efforts (Not available July 5, July 12-20.)
- Adam Zylka, UAS Team Lead: Adam.Zylka@uvm.edu. Can speak about drones, the data they collect, and flood deployment. (Available for interviews after June 14.)
Protecting Manufactured Home Communities
Vermont has nearly 240 manufactured home communities (MHC) and roughly 27% have at least some portion of property within a mapped FEMA flood zone. MHCs comprise a significant part of the state’s affordable housing stock and are particularly vulnerable to severe weather. Kelly Hamshaw was engaged in recovery efforts with these unique communities during Tropical Storm Irene, facilitated flood risk preparedness exercises with residents, and quickly responded to help MHC residents affected by the July floods. She is now working with MHC residents to determine what people learned from the flooding and collecting their stories for Vermont Flood Ready.gov. Hamshaw can speak to the unique challenges MHCs face during response and recovery efforts.
Contact:
- Kelly A. Hamshaw: Kelly.hamshaw@uvm.edu, 802-656-1219, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Community Development and Applied Economics. (Not available July 1-4.)
Helping Farmers Bounce Back From Flooding
Last year’s July floods sent many farms into the red with 27,318 acres impacted, resulting in losses over $16M, according to the . ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Extension personnel jumped in to help growers with soil testing and remediation efforts, directing farmers to financial resources, and chairing the state’s Agriculture Recovery Task Force. In collaboration with the ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab, 194 free soil tests were provided to farmers and community gardeners, assessing nutrient levels and heavy metals on 391 acres of flooded fields. Another 9 farms had fields assessed at 166 sites for bacterial loads and hydrocarbon levels at 30 and 60 days after flooding. Their results, which found no evidence of contamination that would preclude re-planting food crops, were shared with growers, allowing them to earn some revenue later in the season. To help remediate flooded soils, over $18,000 in free cover crop seed was provided to farmers with flooded fields, thanks to support from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.
Contact:
- Roy Beckford, Extension Director, who co-led the agriculture recovery task force and can speak to big picture impacts of the flood: 802-656-8679, fitzroy.beckford@uvm.edu
- Vern Grubinger, Extension Professor, Vegetable and Berry Specialist: vernon.grubinger@uvm.edu, 802-380-6389.
¶¶Òõ̽̽ Community Mobilized to Help Vermonters
During the floods, ¶¶Òõ̽̽’s Division of Safety and Compliance organized a university-wide relief effort with ¶¶Òõ̽̽ staff and faculty assisting with rescue teams, supplies and fundraising, safety inspections, and cleanup efforts.
¶¶Òõ̽̽’s Office of the Vice President for Research and the Gund Institute for Environment partnered to award six rapid response research grants to researchers and community partners to evaluate and recover from this year’s catastrophic flooding as well as planning for future climate events. Researchers from many of these projects are available for interviews.
The Flood’s Climate Context
According to ¶¶Òõ̽̽ climatologist Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, the July 2023 flood was remarkable from an atmospheric sciences and climatology perspective—and can be placed alongside the historic floods of 1927, 1973, and the dual floods of 2011 (May and Tropical Storm Irene). Dupigny-Giroux is an expert in floods, droughts, and severe weather and how they affect the landscape and peoples of Vermont and the U.S. Northeast. She has contributed to all five National Climate Assessments, serving as the lead author for the Northeast Chapter of the 2018 National Climate Assessment, and an author on the 2023 National Climate Assessment’s Water Chapter. In 2020, she was appointed by the Vermont House of Representatives to the Vermont Climate Council. Dupigny-Giroux prepared a flood briefing for Governor Phil Scott and addressed the opening of the 2024 Vermont Legislative Session to set the context for reducing Vermonters’ risks to natural hazards, including those of the July 2023 historic flooding.
Contact:
- Lesley-Ann L. Dupigny-Giroux, ldupigny@uvm.edu, Distinguished Professor of Geography & Geosciences and the Vermont State Climatologist.
Climate Research Shows Vermont Getting Wetter, Warmer
¶¶Òõ̽̽ climate expert Gillian Galford is available to discuss the findings—and implications—of the most recent Vermont Climate Assessment. This landmark state-wide study revealed that the Green Mountain State is becoming warmer and wetter due to climate change.
Contact:
- Gillian Galford: gillian.galford@uvm.edu, Research Associate Professor, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Gund Institute for Environment
Communicating During Emergencies
On July 10, 2023, cell phones flashed with emergency warnings to move to higher ground. Vermont residents swapped images of rain gauges and flooded zones on social media. Montpelier residents texted about whether the dam above town would hold. The flow of emergency information is critical for keeping people safe. That’s why postdoctoral scholar Lakelyn Taylor, advised by Elizabeth Doran and Anne Jefferson, is studying how messages move from government agencies through community organizations and how they are filtered, modified, and redistributed to the public before and during flood events. With partners at Research Triangle Institute (RTI), the team’s work uses focus group interviews with Vermonters and communities across the US, as well as a national survey to improve flood warning communication.
Contact:
- Lakelyn Taylor: lakelyn.taylor@uvm.edu, Postdoctoral Scholar;
- Elizabeth Doran: Elizabeth.Doran@uvm.edu, 802-656-4203, Research Assistant Professor, ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering;
- Anne Jefferson: anne.jefferson@uvm.edu, 802-656-5734, Patrick Chair of Watershed Science and Planning, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Mapping Vermont’s Floodplains
While FEMA floodplain maps are available in some parts of Vermont, these maps are often based on outdated topography and river elevations. Rebecca Diehl has led an effort to map floodplains more comprehensively across the Lake Champlain basin, and these maps were used in emergency response efforts for the July 2023 floods. Rebecca Diehl and Kristen Underwood are now documenting flooding extents and calculating erosional changes that occurred to river channels and floodplains resulting from the July and December events. Floodplain maps will be updated with current topography and their accuracy improved to better understand flood risk during future extreme events. In addition, Liz Doran, assistant research professor, and ¶¶Òõ̽̽ collaborators are working to better understand the flora and fauna communities that often live together in floodplains for the tool used by the state’s restoration ecologists.
Contacts:
- Rebecca Diehl, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography & Geosciences - rebecca.diehl@uvm.edu;
- Kristen Underwood, Research Associate Professor in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department: Kristen.Underwood@uvm.edu (Not available June 21 to July 7)
- Elizabeth Doran, Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering - Elizabeth.Doran@uvm.edu /802-656-7352
Urban Impacts on Flooding and Lake Champlain
In Chittenden County and beyond, Vermont’s built-up areas affect how water moves into and over the ground. Anne Jefferson is an expert on stormwater and urban streams with over 15 years of research on how urban development and green infrastructure affect flooding and water quality. As Director of Lake Champlain Sea Grant, Jefferson can also speak to how the 2023 flooding affected Lake Champlain and Sea Grant’s work with communities to increase their resilience to future flooding and extreme events. She is also a senior faculty member of ¶¶Òõ̽̽’s Water Resources Institute.
Contact:
- Anne Jefferson: anne.jefferson@uvm.edu, 802-656-5734, Patrick Chair of Watershed Science and Planning, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Restoring Wetlands to Mitigate Flooding and Capture Phosphorus
Excessive phosphorus from agricultural and urban lands in waterways that ultimately flow into Lake Champlain drive toxic algal blooms that can harm people, pets, and wildlife. ¶¶Òõ̽̽’s Eric Roy studies the capacity for restored wetlands along Vermont’s rivers to store floodwaters and capture both sediment and phosphorus, protecting downstream infrastructure and aquatic ecosystems. His team monitored several restored wetlands during the historic 2023 flood as part of ongoing research supported in recent years by the USDA NRCS, The Nature Conservancy, the Lake Champlain Basin Program, the ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Gund Institute, and the ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Office of the Vice President of Research.
Contact:
- Eric Roy: eric.roy@uvm.edu, Associate Prof., Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gund Institute for Environment
Strengthening Flood Resilience in Vermont’s Rural Communities
Vermont’s rural communities face unique challenges to recovering after a flood, including poverty, housing insecurity, and disrupted mobility in the short and long term. ¶¶Òõ̽̽’s Transportation Research Center researchers are studying the resilience of rural Vermonters after the July 2023 flooding. Dana Rowangould, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Sarah Grajdura, postdoctoral researcher, are focusing on how the July and December floods affected people’s mobility and daily lives as well as the personal and institutional factors that support people’s ability to recover. Preliminary data from the survey should be available later this summer. Findings from this research can inform efforts to strengthen community resilience to future flood events, particularly for Vermonters with fewer economic resources.
Contact:
- Dana Rowangould: Dana.Rowangould@uvm.edu, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Transportation Research Center (Not available June 17-23, July 1-7, and July 15-21).