Reporter on the ground: Major flooding in US capital of Vermont

Record amounts of rain fell in Vermont's capital city in the US, with rising flood waters continuing to threaten the state. Weather & Radar's reporter is on the ground.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms swamped several US states on Sunday 9th and Monday 10th July. A one in a thousand-year flood occurred in southern New York.

The most widespread and hardest hit however, was Vermont. Between 12 to 23 cm of rainfall fell across the state, producing ongoing, massive flash flooding, overtopping the narrow banks of mountain streams and rivers.

In Montpelier, the state capital, a record 13.4 cm of rain fell Monday, shattering the daily record of 2.3 cm set in 1989.

River levels throughout northern Vermont, including the Winooski River in Montpelier, Vermont, are at major flood stage. These levels will only rise higher in coming days, worsening the situation.

Mudslides and washed-out roads have cut off many parts of the rural state. Montpelier officials are concerned about a dam upriver that only has 1.8 metres left of storage before emergency spillways bring water into the already inundated town.