Evacuations Urged in Vermont; Power Outages Spread

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont officials are urging people in low-lying areas to evacuate their homes and head for emergency shelters as heavy rains from tropical storm Irene batter the state.

The American Red Cross has opened eight shelters. One at the Brattleboro Union High School was housing about 50 people at midday Sunday.

Others are at high schools in Bennington, Springfield, Hartford, and Rutland, the Barre Auditorium, St. Johnsbury School and St. Albans Town Education Center.

Meanwhile, Vermont utilities are reporting more than 18,000 people without power, with the majority being customers of Central Vermont Public Service.

A wave of worsening conditions is expected to move north through the state throughout the day, with rivers like the North Branch in Montpelier cresting around midnight.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

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3. Irene Prompts Mandatory Evacuations in Conn.
4. About 70,000 Without Power in Conn. Ahead of Irene
5. Vermont Offers Annual Incentive of $1,500 to Tech Grads; Here’s How to Apply

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Posted by jcashman on Aug 28 2011. Filed under Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry