Mad River Valley after Irene flooding
This page (partially updated Nov 16) is NOT frequently updated. For most current recovery information, see the
links below. In particular, for status in the Mad River Valley, see www.mrvhurricaneirene.com.
While many people are still recovering from August's flooding, the attractions in
the valley are intact and accessible. All main roads in our vicinity are open, although you might yet encounter a work zone or
stretch of reduced speed here and there. (If not taking a main road, it still might be good to research your route beforehand.)
Our ski club had a delightful Work-and-Play Weekend in October,
and we're looking forward to opening the season in VT on Thanksgiving.
WARNING: CHECK LINKS BELOW FOR MOST CURRENT INFORMATION. The recovery process not over,
and will go on for some time yet. So will the need for assistance.
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Waitsfield Village Bridge, 1833, is reopened. ©
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We are pleased to report that the Waitsfield covered bridge has been reopened to automobiles. Our ski club's
lodge is also accessible via Trembly
Road (the bridge north of Waitsfield, just north of Kenyon's).
For CURRENT news and guidance regarding the donation of money, goods and/or
services, please see the following Hurricane Irene emergency information.
Current information on the state of things in the Mad River Valley, including how, where and why to give assistance: www.mrvhurricaneirene.com.
Facebook site with a continual stream of postings by local residents and businesses, including coordination of volunteer efforts and donations,
and requests for same:
www.facebook.com/MRVpostIrene
For people not able to access Facebook, this Google Calendar shows at least most of the same work projects mentioned
there. https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fa37nk0m90npn03no587gh7o9o%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FNew_York.
Mad River Valley flood relief center Headquarters is at the Masonic Lodge, across from the library, in Waitsfield.
A FEMA representative is also there. (One of our club members reports that someone offering volunteer services is referred
to the MRVpostIrene Facebook site listed above.) Posts at that site ask that if you volunteer recovery services, you should report your hours to
Headquarters to help officially assess the disaster impact and recovery. (Or, apparently you can record your service online here.)
Info on donating, volunteering, roads, etc, including useful info links: valleyfutures.net/category/announcements
Financial Donations: Mad River Valley Community Fund
mrvcommunityfund.org
Vermont Response Exchange, basic mechanism for those affected by the Irene floods to connect with people looking to donate items.
vtexchange.org
VTResponse is a team of volunteers aggregating news and information for people looking to help or for help after Irene, covering the range of VT communities.
(Their search box will find information about Mad River Valley, etc.): VTResponse
As time passes since the storm, more and more resource sites are appearing or adapting online. Rather than parrot what you might just
as easily find at Google, here is a link to results for Mad River Valley Irene recovery.
And others we had already listed:
The Governor's Flood Response Dashboard aggregates various sources of online information: governor.vermont.gov/response
For additional resources, start with the governor's home page at governor.vermont.gov
Annual Labor Day Weekend Crafts Fair IS being held this Labor Day Weekend: madrivercraftfair.com
A good Forbes article about what's still open for tourists in Vermont (almost everything!).
Come Back to Vermont!
The Official State Tourism site: vermontvacation.com
Official State Tourism Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/VisitVT
VT Governor Peter Shumlin’s website: governor.vermont.gov
State map showing roads' status: 511vt.com
Google map showng roads closed and other info (not identical to the above): maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=207918639007223745572.0004abbcfd13f9b62a59d
Vermont Agency of Transportation, highways and bridges reopened (a bit cryptic, but current): www.aot.state.vt.us
Crisislanding highways and bridges map (some locals prefer this one):
crisislanding.appspot.com/?crisis=2011_flooding_vermont
The Point Independent Radio. Aggregated links to organizations and communities, benefit events, charitable groups,
and businesses helping with clean-up and recovery efforts in the MRV and other areas. http://www.pointfm.com/hurricane-irene-after-the-storm.php
Vermont Public Radio has current and archived local news at VPR.net.
Other information:
MadRiverGlen.com
Sugarbush.com
Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce: www.madrivervalley.com
The Valley Reporter: www.valleyreporter.com
On Aug 30, our SSC President Andrea Duckworth advised (excerpted):
Our ski lodge is not near the flood zones and we have not had reports of any issues. To be sure all is well,
we plan to check on the house in the next day or so.
Some club members have asked what we can do to assist the town. If you wish to make a financial donation,
there is a community fund that provides assistance to local folks in need. They accept online donations through
PayPal and can be found at http://mrvcommunityfund.org/.
A number of roads that we usually take to the lodge have been closed due to varying degrees of flood damage.
In particular, several sections of Route 100 north of Rutland are closed, as are Route 4 between Rutland and
Killington and Route 100B to Moretown. Other roads are open to local traffic only. The complete list is much longer
and ever changing.
[Members wishing to] stay at the lodge in order to participate in one of the volunteer projects, please let us know.
No doubt help will be welcome for some time to come.
