Damped water in a dam protecting the Vermont capital threatened to overflow on Tuesday. and exacerbate “catastrophic” floods that they have already blocked the roads from the American city and locked some residents in their homes.

At the first hour of the morning Wrightsville Dam, which forms a reservoir 4 miles north of Montpellier has a storage capacity of 6 feet, city manager William Fraser wrote on Facebook.

If the spillway is exceeded, water will be released into the northern reaches of the Winooski River, he warns, exacerbating what the National Weather Service describes as “catastrophic” flooding in downtown Montpelier, where the northern currents of the larger Winooski River converge. .

Frazier urged the city’s 8,000 residents to be prepared to move to the top floors of their homes due to the power outage. Highways make evacuation difficult or impossible.

Montpelier Fire Chief Robert Gowans said rescuers had brought in boats about a dozen people stranded in homes and vehicles in the city, where more 18 centimeters of rain in the last two days.

“Now the sun has risen and the river is receding”Gowans said, noting that an inspector is monitoring the dam. “Let’s hope the worst is over.”

In the morning, Vinooski’s height in Montpellier was 6.46 meters.slightly lower than the previously reached maximum. Flooding in the city center was expected until late in the evening, when river levels could recede below 15 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

video recording Fox weather They showed that water had reached the windows of businesses and the roofs of vehicles in Montpelier’s picturesque town centre.

“This has never happened since the dam was built.so there is no precedent for potential damage,” Frazier wrote. “This will be especially severe along the north channel and towards the city centre.”

Reuters