LUDLOW, Vt. – The Village of Ludlow saw significant flooding on Monday, July 10, with storm waters rising to cover Main Street and Pond Street both in the early morning and mid afternoon.
Around 4 p.m., town manager Brendan McNamara could be seen under the traffic light in the center of Ludlow, talking with residents and helping to coordinate the emergency response as the waters flowed past the Mill, turning Main Street into a shallow river. Small groups of people, some displaced from their homes, gathered in areas the floodwaters had not reached. On Andover Street, the normally placid Jewell Brook had risen several feet, eroding its banks enough to cave in half of the road, and slamming small trees, some stripped of their bark, into the wrought iron guardrails of the bridge leading to Lamere Square.
By Wednesday, July 12, as the Ludlow Selectboard and Trustees held a special meeting to hear updates from McNamara on the emergency response, the waters had receded, but the damage was only beginning to be assessed.
“The town is in a tough spot, and we’re reacting to it as best we can,” McNamara told those gathered, extending his thanks to Ludlow’s emergency management personnel. “Their response to this as a group has been tremendous…we’re not doing this without them.”
McNamara told the boards that the dams had all held, but that “the wastewater treatment facility is gone.” Engineers had been there in the morning, assessing the damage. A boil water order had been enacted as a precautionary measure by the state, though nothing had specifically been detected in Ludlow’s water. Tests were being done as of Wednesday afternoon to confirm that the water was safe.
“FEMA will be involved in this, no doubt,” McNamara said, noting that at least some of the helicopters which had been circling the town since Monday afternoon were likely surveying the damage for that purpose. “[This has] to meet certain state and federal thresholds for a national disaster to be activated, which no doubt it will.” The town must document all damage and repairs, McNamara continued, and some things must be a “temporary fix” for now, with any repairs over $250,000 needing to go to bid.
There was also discussion of where donations could be sent, with McNamara telling board member Scott Baitz that the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Ludlow Rotary Club were working on setting up an official monetary donation page for Ludlow disaster relief. As of Friday morning, July 14, that page had been set up, and can be found at www.yourplaceinvermont.com/accepting-donations-for-flood-relief.
Chief of the Ludlow Ambulance Department Stephanie Grover told the boards that volunteers were making trips to Rutland for prescriptions for those who were out of theirs and could not get to a pharmacy themselves, if the prescriptions could be transferred. At least ten people had notified the ambulance service that they were out of their prescriptions. As of the meeting Wednesday, it appeared that the damage to at least one of the pharmacies in town was not extensive. As of Tuesday, July 18, Ludlow Pharmacy at 57 Pond Street had reopened. RiteAid remains closed.
The board also discussed waiving transfer station fees temporarily, to avoid the possibility of people disposing of garbage along roadsides, or penalizing people for disposing of items which may have washed up in their yards.
Finally, the boards enacted an emergency clause in the town’s purchasing policy, which bypasses the normal need for all purchases over $5,000 to go to bid, instead giving the town manager and department heads the authority to make purchases, with the board and town manager to be notified of all purchases over $5,000.
Recovery efforts continue in Ludlow and across the region, and will be ongoing for the foreseeable future. As this is an evolving situation, please check town websites and those of other relevant agencies for up-to-date information when necessary.