National Guard Airlifts Supplies to Vermont Towns

Supply-laden National Guard helicopters today sped to 12 Vermont towns blocked by floodwaters and damage following Hurricane Irene. Vermont was hit with up to 11 inches of rain in what the governor called the worst flooding in a century. Thirty trucks’ worth of FEMA relief supplies arrived at the state’s National Guard headquarters this morning. “We always had that truism that said, `Yup, yah can't get there from here.' In fact, that's come to pass down here,” said a town clerk.

“There are certain pockets where you can't get there from here, at least not by a car.” Meanwhile today, Gov. Peter Shumlin explained why more evacuations weren’t ordered in the state, the AP reports. “"What are you going to do, evacuate the entire state of Vermont?" he said. "You can see one community that looks like it didn't get hit at all, and two miles down the road a community that is totally devastated.” Click to read how governors stepped up their game for Irene. (More Vermont stories.)