President Biden has declared a state of emergency in Vermont, where torrential rainfall triggered “historic and catastrophic” flooding – the worst in nearly a hundred years – and more wet weather is on the way.

Although flood waters are starting to recede, in Montpelier, the state capital, cars floated down streets. 

Homes and businesses like Andrew Mullen’s were washed out after the area was pounded with at least eight inches of rain. The restaurant owner said, “There’s about seven feet of water inside stands, the point that you can’t barely see. the ice machine flipped over just from the power of the water coming through.” 

Downtown Montpelier, VT is flooded with several feet of water on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Several feet of water filled the lower levels of most buildings and reached to near the top of parking meters. (Bryan Pfeiffer via AP)

Vermont’s Winooski River crested at just over 22 feet, the highest since 1927. The rain also washed away the earth underneath a railroad track leaving it dangling in mid-air. 

Paula Schwartz and her family fled their home in Ludlow, her neighbor taking a kayak to check on it for them. “My next-door neighbor, they’re in there in the house and they can’t get out,” Schwartz said. 

Crews rescued more than 175 people, taking them to dry land.  “In many areas, the water conditions remain too dangerous for rescue by boat,” said Jennifer Morrison, Comr., Vermont Dept. of Public Safety.

On the other side of the country, is a stunning scene in California’s Los Angeles County. A major landslide has destroyed or condemned at least 12 homes already – many falling, collapsing into a ravine. 

They’re now watching at least 16 more homes in Rolling Hills Estates after the ground started shifting Saturday, moving 20 feet in 24 hours. “And today you could hear the creaking, the cracking, the crumbling and they’re going to fall,” said Janice Hahn, Los Angeles County Supervisor.

Meanwhile, 65 million people from Florida to California are under heat alerts. Phoenix is expecting the 13th consecutive day of temperatures of 110 degrees or higher. Most of California is seeing temperatures more than 15-degrees above normal. Meteorologists predict the heat wave will reach record highs across 10 states later this week and into the weekend. The Northeast is bracing for more rain by Thursday and Friday.