Just as residents in the Rawsonville section of Jamaica were beginning to get a handle on the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene, the sky opened again on Thursday night.
A “biblical” rain traumatized this village when a flash flood closed Route 100 and a mudslide took out part of a house on that same highway.
Rep. Oliver Olsen, R-Jamaica, was on the scene and shot video and photos of the flooding. No one, he said, was injured. Residents in the area were evacuated.
Vermont Emergency Management confirmed the mudslide and flooding Thursday night. A heavy downpour formed runoff that cut off the road, and law enforcement officials closed the state highway for several hours. The flash flood also washed out Goodaleville and Diers Roads.
This latest flooding came on the heels of devastation caused by Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 28.
Olsen’s district, which includes Winhall, Stratton, Weston, Londonderry and Jamaica, was badly damaged by Irene. Nearly 30 roads were still washed out in his district.
Four houses in Jamaica were swept away, and Route 30 was destroyed in several places. Two bridges were washed out when Ball Mountain Creek became a torrent.
The renowned Weston Playhouse was damaged when floodwaters churned through the building on Aug. 28. The 19th century Greek Revival structure was not insured, according to The New York Times.
There were no fatalities in Olsen’s district.
Last Wednesday night, in a Facebook chat, the lawmaker said patience is wearing thin, even though residents now have power and many roads have been repaired.
In an early-morning e-mail last Friday to constituents, in which he mentioned the Thursday night flash flood, he emphasized that Route 11 is now open.
Olsen toured area towns with Pat Moulton-Powden, deputy secretary of the Agency of Commerce, last week to talk with local business owners.
The Stratton Foundation has set up a fund for residents, many of whom were uninsured. So far, it has received $75,000 in contributions.
Olsen wrote in an e-mail to constituents that he will be donating the rest of his campaign funds from the 2010 election (about $2,000) to the foundation.
For more information about the Stratton Foundation, go to www.strattonfoundation.org.