Disaster record
Vermont & Northeast Flash Floods (July 2023)
Two years after the disaster 2 deaths $620 million
Summary
Slow-moving storms dropped months of rain in days across Vermont starting July 9–10, 2023, destroying roads, inundating Montpelier and Barre, and triggering a statewide emergency. The disaster became national news as a repeat of catastrophic Vermont flooding one year after July 2022 events.
Headline uses Vermont Agency of Administration total damage estimate of ~$600 million for the July 2023 floods (Douglas Farnham, Chief Recovery Officer — state recovery briefing, Jan 16–17, 2024; March 2024 match estimate noted trend toward ~$620M). Scope: statewide physical damage and repair costs, broader than FEMA Public Assistance public-infrastructure line alone (~$500M+ PA preliminary). Excludes the separate NCEI multi-state Northeast aggregate (~$2.2B), which covers additional states and Midwest severe weather in the same billion-dollar event.
Two confirmed Vermont flood deaths: Stephen Davoll, 63, drowned in his Barre home July 12, 2023 (Vermont Department of Health, July 13); Robert Kerker, 67, of New York, drowned in Stony Brook near Stockbridge while hiking the Appalachian Trail (VTDigger / VSP, confirmed August 1, 2023). NWS Burlington summary: two fatalities. Northeast/Hudson Valley deaths are not in this headline. Unchanged through two-year cutoff.
Headline uses Douglas Farnham (Chief Recovery Officer) March 2024 match estimate of ~$620 million total damage for the July 2023 summer floods — the upper bound of the state’s preliminary $600M+ statewide figure noted at the six-month pass.
Scope: July 2023 Vermont flood damage only (DR-4720). Excluded from headline: Farnham April 2025 status reporting ~$815 million approximate damages across the Jul 2023–Aug 2024 period (mixed incident periods); NCEI multi-state Northeast aggregate (~$2.2B); Central Vermont business economic-injury studies (partial geography, different scope).
Sources: Vermont Agency of Administration match estimates (Feb–Mar 2024); Jan 2024 state recovery briefings (context).
Scientific attribution
Attribution and climate-science reporting linked extreme rainfall to a warmer atmosphere holding more moisture. Verify against primary WWA / NOAA materials before treating specific percentage figures as final.
Jul 10, 2023 · Catastrophic flash flooding across Vermont; impacts in Upstate New York, western Massachusetts, and New Hampshire · flash flooding
← All disasters · Findings · Inclusion rules
Democratic framing
About these tallies
“Core Democratic Officials reviewed” shows how many of the 54 Core Democratic Officials have been examined for this disaster. Scoring rules: Methods.
Democratic framing
Summary
Vermont’s two senators both named the flood and climate in the five-day window. Sen. Bernie Sanders’s July 10 relief statement is event-only; his July 14 Vermont Public interview after Barre and Montpelier called climate an “existential threat.” Sen. Peter Welch’s July 10 safety release is event-only; on July 12 at a FEMA briefing he said a pre-climate-change rainstorm would not have dumped nine inches on Vermont.
Two disaster mentions, two climate connections, no named Republican climate obstruction. House member Becca Balint spoke at the July 12 briefing and is not in the core roster.
Statements
- Bernie Sanders (U.S. Senator (D-VT)) — Jul 14, 2023
- Peter Welch (U.S. Senator (D-VT)) — Jul 12, 2023
- Peter Welch (U.S. Senator (D-VT)) — Jul 10, 2023
- Bernie Sanders (U.S. Senator (I-VT)) — Jul 10, 2023
Republican framing
Gov. Phil Scott issued a documented in-window statement July 11 — “historic and catastrophic” flooding, Montpelier waters above Irene, “not out of the woods.” Emergency management and recovery. No climate attribution. No Republican obstruction of climate policy. His July 10 morning “all hands on deck” briefing (WCAX) is before the noon lock and is not the scoring exhibit.
No in-window Republican U.S. senator statement was added. The Hudson Valley July 9 death and NCEI’s multi-state $2.2 billion event are not this Vermont record.
Statements
- Phil Scott (Governor of Vermont) — Jul 11, 2023
Sources
- The Great Vermont Flood of 10-11 July 2023: Preliminary Meteorological Summary — NWS Burlington
- Vermont officials confirm 2nd death caused by July flooding — VTDigger
- Official — bernie-sanders-vermont-floods-climate-2023-07-14 — U.S. Congress
- FEMA Administrator joins Vermont governor, Congressional delegation to review flood damage — WAMC
- Gov. Phil Scott: Vermont not out of the woods with severe flooding — Vermont Public
- Sanders Statement on Extreme Flooding in Vermont — Office of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
- Official — peter-welch-vermont-floods-safety-2023-07-10 — U.S. Congress
- Scott updates Vermonters on flooding, calls response ‘all hands on deck’ — WCAX