A storm that moved across the Northeast over the weekend has left a trail of damage across New York and Vermont, resulting in one death and heavy amounts of flooding.Some areas of New York, such as the Mid-Hudson and Finger Lakes, got over 8 inches of rain in 24 hours, the governor's office said. Gov. Kathy Hochul issued states of emergency in Orange and Ontario counties, activating special equipment and extra emergency personnel in those places. Several roads and highways have also been closed down."While the storm has already passed through the southern part of New York, conditions remain dangerous in further north where there are ongoing extreme weather conditions," Hochul said. "I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant, monitor local forecasts and have an evacuation plan ready if you're in a danger zone."

Water rescue teams did door-to-door checks and more than a dozen people volunteered to evacuate, Hochul's office said. As of about 9:30 p.m. Monday, there were approximately 4,400 customers without power, according to poweroutage.us.

Additionally, the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Metro-North Hudson line paused some of its services, while Amtrak suspended its route between Albany and New York City on Monday. About 90 passengers had to stay overnight at the Albany station, Hochul's office said. New York's Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks were also closed Monday. In Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott issued a state of emergency as rainfall in some places are expected to exceed levels recorded during 2011's Hurricane Irene, he said at a Monday press conference.

"The good news is as a result of Irene, we were able to mitigate some of the infrastructure, so we hopefully won't repeat in those areas that were affected before," he said. "We've been able to upgrade and armor some of those areas so that we don't have a repeat." Vermont authorities knew at least 48 hours in advance they would not have enough resources ahead of the storm, and has deployed state water rescue teams, as well as those from North Carolina and Massachusetts. Michigan and Connecticut have also supplied mutual aid, Vermont's Urban Search and Rescue Program Coordinator Mike Cannon said Monday. So far, 19 people have been rescued by boat and 25 have been evacuated, Cannon said. Ludlow, Vt.'s town manager, Brendan McNamara, said the rivers began flowing over their banks at about 2:45 a.m. on Monday, and that there is catastrophic damage to Okemo, a southern Vermont resort town.

"The total scope of what kind of damage that has occurred in Ludlow – the onion isn't even peeled back at all right now," he said. "I mean, I'm up and down Main Street because that's what we can access and it is not good."Neighborhoods in Vermont towns including Londonderry and Weston are currently completely inaccessible, and rescue teams are trying to gain access to continue welfare checks, Cannon said. Additionally, teams are in the process of rescuing employees and campers from a state park in Plymouth, Vt. Scott said the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, has offered their full support.

More flooding could be on the way

A flash flood warning is in effect in parts of central and southern Vermont until 11:15 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service. An extra half inch to 1.5 inches of rainfall are possible by Monday evening, and flooding is imminent in low-lying areas, such as rivers, streams and creeks, the agency said.

Flood safety tips

Don't drive through flood water.

Evacuate or move to higher ground if water levels are rising.

Pay attention to local media alerts.

Don't operate generators inside and make sure they are property ventilated once outside.

Shut the circuit breaker off before evacuating to make it easier for rescue teams to do their work.

[Copyright 2023 NPR]