Their Vermont homes were inundated by extreme flooding. A year later, they still struggle to recover

MONTPELIER, Vermont — A year later catastrophic flood Flooded parts of Vermont, Lisa Edson Neveu and her two teenage sons are still living in their flood-ravaged home, despite unrepaired damage that festers like an open wound: ripped-out walls and floors, a missing ceiling in one room, and a downstairs bathroom that’s gone. The family’s kitchen has been destroyed, so they cook meals on an outdoor grill, an electric skillet, or an air fryer.

“The flooding was horrible. The water was high. It was coming down the back slope. It was dark, it was stormy. All of that was horrible, but that’s not the part that’s been really traumatic,” said Neveu, 52. “That part, everybody was great, neighbors helping neighbors, the community helping each other. The National Guard was incredible. What’s been traumatic and I can’t even explain how horrible this past year has been.”

Since the floods of July last year, which capital of Montpelier underwater up to the waist, it’s been “a battle with insurance companies, the adjusters, the city, the state and FEMA and the federal government and nothing is consistent with anything,” Neveu said.

A year later, the family is still in limbo as the city determines which homes it can lift — above the flood threat — or buy with funding appropriated by the Legislature. But Neveu and her neighbor doubt the city will have enough money to do all the work and say there is no solid plan a year after the flood.

They’re not alone. A number of Vermonters in Montpelier, nearby Barre and elsewhere in the state are still reeling from the flooding, waiting to see if their homes will be elevated or if FEMA will buy them out, a process that could take years.

In May, Vermont became the first state to introduce a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for some of the damage caused by extreme weather events due to climate change. Republican Gov. Phil Scott let the bill pass without his signature, citing concerns about the cost and outcome of the tiny state taking on Big Oil on its own in what is likely to be a grueling legal battle. But he acknowledged that he understands that something must be done to address the toll of climate change.

Montpelier Mayor Jack McCullough said the small city still shows the scars of the flooding.

“It’s not over yet for some people who are here,” he said. About a dozen homes were badly damaged.

But the city has bounced back in several ways, he added. Most downtown buildings and businesses are open again and most flood victims are back home, he said.

“We are moving forward, but it will still take more time,” he said.

Mike Miller, the city’s planning director, said Neveu’s house is at the top of the list for elevation, and if the city does one this year, it will be hers, barring some unforeseen technical issue. Most of the work will likely happen next year, he said.

“Our goal is to preserve as many homes as possible,” he said by email.

More than 3,160 homes in the state had enough damage to earn repair aid from FEMA, according to Douglas Farnham, the state’s chief recovery officer. Cities are still assessing severely damaged homes, but so far 200 homeowners are interested in buyouts, he said by email.

Ed Haggett, 70, who lived next door to Neveu, is one of them.

“I lived here for 47 years,” he said. “It was my retirement. I was a single parent, I raised my daughter. I put everything into it, paid it off, and I thought I was done, but I wasn’t. I lost everything.”

For the past year, Haggett has been living with his daughter, grandchildren and their spouses — seven adults — while he waits for a decision on whether Montpelier or FEMA will buy his badly damaged home. He can’t afford to pay for repairs and plans to get a loan from the Small Business Administration to build an addition onto his daughter’s home. But he said the agency lost his application in January by seven weeks, delaying the process.

Haggett’s homeowners insurance paid only part of the damage, he said. He’s been sleeping in his daughter’s den for the past year. The bureaucratic delays and uncertainty are taking a toll on people’s health, he said.

“It’s extremely, extremely, extremely frustrating,” Haggett said.

McCullough said the city hopes to have enough money to raise or buy up the homes of the hardest hit people, but didn’t know exactly when.

In the nearby city of Barre, about 350 residential and commercial buildings sustained some level of damage from last July’s flooding, according to City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro. There have been 62 applications — both residential and commercial — for buyouts, and 10 homes have been identified for upgrades, Storellicastro said.

Further on in Berlin, the floods of July last year mutilated the mobile home where Sara Morris, her husband, their three children, and his mother lived. For the past year, they have been staying with her mother and husband, and her brother — nine people in a three-bedroom house.

“There’s no space. We’re on top of each other,” she said. “It’s finally getting to the point where we’re lashing out at each other. We’re snapping, we’re fighting a little bit more.”

She has her children see a relationship therapist because of what the family has been through.

“Sometimes I feel like I’ve lost my children a little bit because of everything we’ve been through,” she said.

Last month, they were finally able to purchase another mobile home and land, about 3 acres (1.21 hectares) in Middlesex. The house arrives in late August and they expect it to be ready to move in by mid-September.

“I really wanted to make something good out of what we went through,” Morris said. “And I was determined.”

Neveu lives in a flood zone and had flood insurance, but it only paid half, she said. The house was not damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and she didn’t expect the water to reach the first floor last year.

For now, while the house is in disrepair, she and her boys have strung holiday lights on the walls, mounted a flat-screen TV, and hung artwork and a beloved clock. They often spend evenings on a large porch with friends, enjoying the view of the wide Winooski River across the street.

The family is excited to see downtown Montpelier being rebuilt and businesses reopening, but they also feel left behind, she said.

“It’s so bizarrely alienating because we haven’t moved forward at all,” Neveu said. “We’re happy with any positive movement, but it’s really crazy that a whole year later there’s still no plan. And it’s not for lack of trying.”