New York declares emergency as Vermont braces for ‘catastrophic’ deluge

Close Heavy rains cause flash flooding in New York Large swathes of land in the US northeast are covered with water after heavy rains washed out roads, forcing evacuations and halting travel. At least one death has been confirmed so far by authorities – a woman in her 30s who was killed in New York ‘s Hudson Valley as she tried to escape her flooded home with her dog. Hudson Valley saw up to 10 inches of rain just on Sunday, an amount that usually falls throughout the three months of summer. Large parts of New York City were under heavy rains warning overnight while 11 million people in New England remained under alerts. Dozens of people were trapped in their cars and homes as rescue services carried out operations throughout the day to move people to safer places. ‘Dangerous, widespread flash flooding from excessive rainfall is expected across New England through Tuesday morning; Highest risk for Vermont with expected impacts to transit routes,’ the National Weather Service warned. Flooding hit Vermont’s state capital, with Montpelier town manager Bill Fraser estimating on Monday night that knee-high waters had reached much of downtown and were expected to rise a couple of more feet during the night.