1 dead in severe flooding in Vermont caused by remnants of Hurricane Beryl

One person has died as flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl sweeps across Vermont, Governor Phil Scott announced Thursday.

Vermont State Police identified the man as Dylan Kempton, 33, of Peacham, Vermont, and said he died late Wednesday during heavy rains and flash flooding in the area.

At around 10:35 p.m., police were called for a car that had fallen into South Peacham Brook. They found that the driver of the car was rescued unharmed, but discovered an overturned UTV in the water.

Shortly before midnight, they found a dead man downstream and recovered Kempton’s body early Thursday, police said.

Police determined that a broken sewer line caused water to flow across the road, sweeping Kempton and the UTV he was using to drive home.

In addition to the death, heavy rains that began Wednesday evening have caused power outages, road and bridge closures, evacuations and damage to homes and properties, Scott said at a news conference on Thursday.

According to an update from the Department of Public Safety on Thursday, the damage from the floods was “extensive.” Damage was significant in central Vermont and some eastern and western counties.

According to official information, the greatest danger during the night was flash floods and isolated river floods, but by the time of the press conference on Thursday, the flash floods had largely disappeared.

River flooding was expected to subside throughout Thursday, with the exception of the Winooski, Passumpsic and Lamoille rivers, which were expected to peak during the day and into the evening.

A video posted Thursday from the Winooski River shows the massive floodwaters rushing downstream.

Officials said the waterways are not safe at this time, adding that Vermonters should avoid the rivers even though the weather is set to get hot in the coming days.

Swift water teams in the state have rescued 118 people, including 15 pets, and there has been one death, Swift water team leader Mike Kim said Thursday.

Officials are still “actively responding,” Vermont Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said Thursday, adding that rescue operations are still ongoing in the Lyndonville area.

Morrison said secondary searches were still being conducted in some of the worst-hit areas, including Mooretown, Plainfield, Lyndonville, Barre, Richmond, Bolton and Williamstown.

At the time of Thursday’s press conference, Joe Flynn of the Vermont Department of Transportation said 54 state roads were closed. The number did not include all local roads affected.

Flynn said six bridges were “affected” and three were destroyed or severely damaged.

The flood occurred exactly one year after severe floods hit the state on July 10 and 11, 2023.

Scott said “the irony is not lost on any of us that this flooding comes exactly on the first anniversary of last year’s floods.”

“We are ready. Thanks to last year’s results, our response capacity and our tools are stronger. We will get through this,” he said.