Heading into this week — the one-year anniversary of the July 2023 floods — Richmond couple Amy and Dacyn Channell said they were feeling prepared for the next flood.
They had a sump pump, they had neighbors who watched out for one another.
"Anytime the river starts to raise, we have our little community chat. And, 'Hey, heads up! The river's pretty high today,'" Amy said last week. "Now we know once it gets to this point in our yard, we should go. But until that point, we're OK."
And then — it happened again. For the third time in a year, heavy rains poured down, and the Winooski River jumped its banks.
Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, brown waters inundated fields, roadways, some houses and the Volunteers Green park. Next to the park is Esplanade Street, where the Channell family lives.
When Vermont Public’s Elodie Reed checked in with the family on Thursday, she learned the Channells and their neighbors got stuck.
This piece was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Amy Channell: We thought we were good. We were, we were all trying to be positive about it. We were all communicating with each other about what we're seeing on the news, and "OK good. We can sleep tight tonight!" And it's like, we can't let our guard down. So we're all just kinda waking up in a surprise.
And it's under our back porch at this point. Like it's, it's pretty — it's probably just a couple of feet from touching the house.
A neighbor just said one of the cottonwood trees in the park just came crashing down. So it's a bit of a mess. It's a bit of a mess.
(The video below shows the Channell family's yard, as seen from their porch in Richmond, on the morning of July 11, 2024).
Elodie: Reed: How are you guys feeling in your house?
Amy Channell: I mean, we personally feel fine. Like, I think it was just more of a disappointment factor in there, where nobody came to let us know that it got this high.
Elodie Reed: No one knocked on doors or warned you guys. Has anyone been in touch since? Like from the fire department or the town or anything?
Amy Channell: Nope. I don't believe anybody's heard from the fire department. But one of the neighbors mentioned that there were some emergencies, rightfully so, throughout the town that they were responding to. But at the same time, I think this is kind of an emergency! It felt like, even a phone call ... if the past two times we had them check in on us, I guess what was different about this one?
So, a lot of people are very upset, that — they're like, even the farmer was trying to leave and he couldn't. Like we're all just — we're just kind of trapped here.
Elodie Reed: I'm so sorry, Amy.
Amy Channell: This will go away. This will go away. It'll take a little bit of time. And yes, like, we're just kind of on our own little island over here now, I guess, "Esplanade Island." But you know, it's not just us. It's — there's several people in our, in our neighborhood, so we got each other's backs.
Elodie Reed: Can you just like, tell me how you're feeling this morning?
Amy Channell: It’s just — I can't believe it — this is the third time it's happened in a year. This is supposed to be every 100 years, is what we were told when we bought the house. So we — we thought we were fine. And three times in a year. There's something wrong. I'm hoping that insurances and FEMA will kinda look at everything again and be a little more considerate to people needing the help, and possibly getting the help sooner.
Elodie Reed: What do you need, like, now? And like, what do you foresee needing in the next week?
Amy Channell: We're right at the water treatment facility, are we going to have a problem with contaminated water again? So I'm gonna assume that's gonna be a problem. And then, you know, the same situation, we're gonna need help with just neighbors’ basements, vacuuming water out, you know, just cleaning it all up again. So I'm hoping the community will come together like they did last time, and just kinda figure this out.
Again, not everyone's first rodeo. So hopefully, we have a good template going on for this. I mean, it's unfortunate that it has to come to that. You know, it's just — it's becoming a habit at this point. It's crazy.
Elodie Reed: Yeah, it is crazy.
Amy Channell: Yeah. Rinse and repeat.
By Thursday night, Amy said the community already started a volunteer sign-up sheet, and that by Friday morning, the waters had receded, and the park was no longer flooded.
Flood recovery resources
- For state road closure information, visit newengland511.org or follow @511VT on X. (For local road closures, use the Waze app or monitor town communications, such as a website or Facebook page.)
- You can sign up for alerts from the state at vtalert.gov.
- The latest forecasts and water levels for specific rivers are provided by the National Water Prediction Service.
- Find power outage information at vtoutages.org.
- To find more resources and services, and to report flood damage, call Vermont 2-1-1 or visit vermont211.org.
- For a list of state resources and guidance about flooding, visit vermont.gov/flood. The guidance includes returning home after a flood, cleaning up, and dealing with mold.
- Find flood recovery information in multiple languages at vem.vermont.gov/flood/translation.
- To request cleanup help from volunteers and groups, call the Crisis Cleanup hotline at 802-242-2054.
- For mental health support, call 9-8-8 or call or text the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990.
- To register through the state to volunteer, visit vermont.gov/volunteer.
- If flood waters reached your private well or spring, order a drinking water test kit through the Vermont Department of Health.
- Find flood-prone areas near you with the Vermont Flood Ready Atlas.
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.
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