Flood Resources 2024
As Vermont faces historic flooding for the second year in a row, we're thinking of our communities around the state who are facing challenges and dealing with the fallout of July 10-11's flash floods, and the additional heavy rains and flooding in the NEK on July 29-30.
Here at VFN, we want to express our concern for any of our member businesses and staff who may have been directly impacted by the flooding. If you and/or your business have been affected, please know that the VFN's thoughts are with you and we are here to offer any help we can. We don't know yet how many of our members have been affected by these floods, or how bad the damage will be, but if you need volunteer assistance with physical clean-up efforts, repairs, or other tasks please let us know. If there's anything in particular the Network can do to support you, we want to help.
Restaurants, chefs, and buyers:
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Have your deliveries been disrupted by road closures? If you need to source food or ag products, let us know what you need , and we'll do our best to help you find a producer partner.
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If your restaurant has experienced damage, make sure to document everything for your insurance provider.
- It's also important to report business damage to Vermont 211. This data helps the state respond to storm-related damages, and apply for federal disaster relief.
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Do you need volunteers or extra hands to help clean up damaged spaces? Let us know, and we can help spread the word.
Farmers and specialty producers:
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Have you had to harvest early and have an unexpected crop surplus? Do you have an excess of product that you need to sell? Let us know and we’ll do our best to help you find a market for your products.
- The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has developed a technical assistance toolkit with guidance, resources and contact information to support agricultural recovery from flooding.
- Respond to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture's Flood Loss and Damage Survey. Survey data will be used to inform flood response efforts, allocate resources, and advocate for future relief and recovery programs.
- The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has put together a guide of next steps for farms impacted by flooding.
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If you experienced loss or damage due to the floods, report it to your local FSA office.
- It's also important to report business damage to Vermont 211. This data helps the state respond to storm-related damages, and apply for federal disaster relief.
- Do you need volunteers or extra hands to help clean up damaged spaces? Let us know, and we can help spread the word.
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The Vermont Flood Response & Recovery Fund is ready to offer support for impacted communities.
- Fill out NOFA-VT's intake form to access their farmer services and technical assistance.
- Farmers with any level of damage can apply for NOFA-VT's Farmer Emergency Fund.
- Maple producers - UVM Extension recommends that sugar makers clean out any culverts or water bars you might have on your property. See this info sheet for details.
- Take the Disaster Recovery Gaps survey.
- Visit the Vermont Agency of Agriculture's website for flood-related resources and guidance. If you have flood-related questions or issues, you can contact the Vermont Agency of Agriculture at agr.floodresponse@vermont.gov.
- Access Farm First for a variety of mental health resources for farmers and farmworkers.
We'll continue to update this post as we learn more about funding opportunities, volunteer organization efforts, etc. around the state. In the meantime, here are some resources we’ve gathered that may be helpful:
- VT DOH - Stay Safe in a Flood
- VT DOH - Guidance for Food Establishments for Re-Opening After Flooding
- Disaster Assistance (driven by address)
- For those that have flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), HERE is the link with information about submitting a claim and what to expect during the claim process
- Farms - report loss and damage to your local FSA office.
- Keep an eye on Vermont do not drink and boil water notices.
If you need assistance, you can call one of the N11 numbers below to connected to support:
- 2-1-1 Community services and information
- 3-1-1 Municipal government non-emergency services (3-1-1 is NOT used in Vermont)
- 4-1-1 Directory assistance (not officially assigned by the FCC)
- 6-1-1 Telephone company customer service and repair (not officially assigned by the FCC)
- 7-1-1 TDD and Relay services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- 8-1-1 Underground public utility location (“Dig Safe”)
- 9-1-1 Emergency services (police, fire, ambulance)
Flood Safety Tips:
- If rising water is approaching, leave.
- Evacuate over high ground and plan that route now for this weekend and any time there may be flooding.
- Never drive or walk through floodwaters. Strong currents or unseen washouts can sweep you and your car away.
- Turn off the circuit breaker in your home before you evacuate – if you can do so safely.
- Have a licensed electrician inspect your electrical system before you once again occupy your business if it has been flooded.
- If you are in a flood-prone area, or if you believe your home will be flooded, it is advisable to move valuables from your basement in case water enters your home.
- Check your insurance coverage now, and then contact your insurance company if you have damage.
You can find live updates at Vermont Public or WCAX and up-to-date road closures on newengland511
Guidance from the Vermont Small Business Development Center:
- Clearly your safety and the safety of your staff is most important. If you do not have a phone/email/chat tree to keep your staff in touch, create one today.
- As much as you want to go in and check on the situation, do not enter your location if there is flooding. But do take many pictures from a safe distance.
- Call your local insurance agent. Do exactly as they direct.
- Begin DOCUMENTATION related to step #2:
- Take pictures of everything you do from this point forward.
- Keep a running narrative of every action you take.
- Begin to estimate the cost of the damage (this becomes critical if the state is required to collect enough financial impact to get a Federal Disaster Declaration. If that becomes necessary, we will be giving you instructions on how to share your information with the state).
- Also make sure to keep all of your financial data up to date and backed up.
The Vermont Department of Public Safety is also providing updated information and resources here.
For additional updates, you can find below some recommended social media accounts to follow:
- Vermont Emergency Management:
- X: @vemvt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vermontemergencymanagement
- VT State Police:
- VT Division of Fire Safety:
- VT Agency of Transportation:
- VT Department of Health:
- National Weather Service Burlington:
Restoration Resources:
- Disaster Recovery (Rutland area), 877-765-6340
- Catamount Carpet Cleaners (Wilmington area), 802-464-3839
- GW Savage (Rutland and Burlington areas, may go down to Brattleboro area), 800-684-0404
- PuroClean (Middlebury area), 888-379-6940
- Catamount Restoration (Manchester area), 239-348-1555
- Servpro of Cheshire and Windham Counties, 800-352-7251
- Tri-State Restoration (Southern VT & NH), 800-352-6802
- Servpro of Bennington, 802-375-1500
- Quality Cleaning & Restoration (Southern VT, NH and Western MA), 413-774-7737
- Rescon/ARS (Southern VT, NH and MA), 877-461-1111
Several VFN members in impacted communities remain open, and are offering their spaces for coffee, WiFi, and community gathering.
- Stowe Street Cafe in Waterbury is open for free coffee, WiFi, and kindness.
- We're so grateful and appreciative of our members' dedication to their communities!
Please don't hesitate to contact us at info@vermontfresh.net, tara@vermontfresh.net, or jessie@vermontfresh.net if you need anything. We are thankful for your commitment to our food and farm community, and are here to offer our support however we can.
This post was originally published on July 11, 2024 and updated on August 2, 2024. Many of the resources referenced and linked in this post were originally shared in our Flood Resources blog post in 2023. We'll continue to update this post with additional resources in the coming days.
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