Many Addison County residents will remember 2023 as the year during which they never left home without an umbrella.

But for some, the record rainfall was far more than a mere inconvenience. It resulted in many a flooded basement, temporarily closed roads, and in some cases, the loss of real estate and other personal property to the swollen, raging Middlebury River, Otter Creek or smaller bodies of water.

Addison County seemingly dodged a major bullet in July. That’s when widespread flooding covered streets of Montpelier, Barre, Waterbury, Woodstock and Ludlow, and washed-out roads in some smaller towns like Killington.

Addison County saw swollen rivers result in a few road closures in July, but the worst damage was largely confined to perennially flood-prone areas of Ripton and East Middlebury.

A mid-July rainstorm stalled over Ripton, triggering a mudslide on a slope off Route 125 in the village that uprooted and destroyed a home belonging to Chris and Amber Poploski, while forcing the evacuation of a dozen others in the vicinity. A GoFundMe page was created to help the Poploskis rebuild.

The intense rainfall of that storm made a juggernaut out of an already chaotic Middlebury River, propelling it down the mountain into East Middlebury, pummeling its banks and adjacent Route 125.

East Main Street resident Karin Gottshall, who resides just east of the Waybury Inn, told the Independent she thought she heard thunder at around 1:30 a.m. during the night of the storm. But when she went onto her porch, she learned the noise was coming from huge boulders careening downstream.

Many folks living along the Middlebury River sustained damaged home foundations and lost chunks of their backyards.

THE FRONT PAGE of the Addison Independent on Aug. 10, 2023

As it turns out, the July flooding was just a prelude to a bigger disaster that would unfold in Middlebury during the evening of Aug. 3-4. Six inches of rain descended upon the Middlebury area in less than two hours. Middlebury saw its municipal storm drainage system overwhelmed, resulting in large swaths of Seymour and Court streets being covered with several feet of water.

It was a night filled with frantic calls for help and rescues. Middlebury police officer Ethan Jones retrieved the driver of a vehicle that was almost submerged in a mini reservoir that had materialized underneath the rail overpass near the intersection of Elm and Seymour streets.

Rainwater permeated the Middlebury Police Department headquarters at 1 Lucius Shaw Lane, forcing officers and dispatchers to temporarily relocate. At one point, the water in the building was four inches deep. 

Cera Hurley was walking her two dogs around her yard at 83 Court St. when she noticed the tiny Barnes Brook near her house was beginning to pick up steam, to the extent it was overflowing onto her lawn. The water quickly broke through the bulkhead and started pouring into her basement. Hers was one of many basements to be invaded by floodwaters that evening.

Flooding closed Creek Road, Shard Villa Road, 3-Mile Bridge Road, Blake Roy Road, Painter Road, and Route 116. Elsewhere, Route 7 was partially closed in Ferrisburgh; Route 125 in Hancock was closed between Route 100 and Tucker Brook Road, due to a bridge abutment washout.

A major culvert near Dow Pond on 116 in Middlebury was destroyed, triggering a lengthy boil water order for residents north from Jehovah’s Witness Church, Butternut Ridge, Mead Lane and Lindale Trailer Park. The town offered free water to affected residents.

County residents affected by the summer storms asked state and local officials if there was any financial aid to help them rebuild.

The key, they were told, was a federal disaster declaration. Federal Emergency Management Agency investigators spent weeks investigating local damage. FEMA announced in October that President Joe Biden had approved a major disaster declaration related to the Aug. 3-5 storm — but not for the July weather events. This would pave the way for federal funding to help cover early August damages to public property and infrastructure, but no assistance for those who sustained private property losses. Some property owners reported that homeowners insurance did not pay for the flood damage because floods were not generally covered outside of typical flood plains.

See all of 2023’s Top Ten stories here.