Campus Alert Archive
UVM

Vermont's Second 'Hundred-Year' Flood in 12 Years Reaches Burlington

VTfloodingadvisorylow confidence
Confirmed Threat

On July 10-11, 2023, catastrophic rainfall triggered the worst flooding in Vermont since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, prompting Governor Phil Scott to declare a state of emergency for all 14 Vermont counties on July 11. The University of Vermont, a StormReady-certified campus in Burlington, advised its community about hazardous conditions and travel risks as the storm caused two deaths and more than $1 billion in damages statewide. Many UVM faculty, staff, and students were directly affected, and the university mobilized flood-relief and research efforts.

Alerts
1
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
University of Vermont
Public R1 · VT
~13,000 studentsCATAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction237 chars
CATAlert: Severe flooding is affecting Vermont and the Burlington area. Avoid unnecessary travel, do not drive through flooded roads, and follow guidance from VT-Alert and local authorities. Check uvm.edu for university operating status.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed wording: UVM did not publish the specific text of any flood advisory in available archives, so isVerbatimConfirmed is false. The 'avoid travel / don't drive through flooded roads' framing reflects standard CATAlert and VT-Alert flood guidance.
Classified as a cleryCategory of 'advisory' because the flood was a regional weather hazard affecting the surrounding area rather than an immediate on-campus life-safety threat to UVM's hilltop core.
Governor Phil Scott declared a state of emergency for all 14 Vermont counties on July 11, 2023, the context for this advisory.
Context

Background

In early July 2023, Vermont received more rain in a few days than typically falls over two summer months, and Vermonters awoke on July 11 to the second 'hundred-year' storm in 12 years. Governor Phil Scott declared a state of disaster for all 14 counties, and the floods ultimately killed two people and caused more than $1 billion in damage statewide. The University of Vermont's main campus sits on a hill above Lake Champlain in Burlington and was spared the catastrophic inundation that struck Montpelier and other low-lying communities, but the university — the first StormReady-certified campus in the state — used its CATAlert system and broader VT-Alert messaging to advise its community about travel hazards and conditions. In the aftermath, UVM mobilized flood-relief and rapid-research efforts as many of its faculty, staff, and students were directly affected. The case documents how a large public university issues advisory-level weather notifications during a regional disaster that surrounds, but does not directly devastate, its core campus.
Analysis

Key Findings

The July 10-11, 2023 storm was Vermont's worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, with two deaths and over $1 billion in damage
Governor Phil Scott declared a state of emergency for all 14 Vermont counties on July 11, 2023
UVM's hilltop Burlington campus avoided catastrophic flooding but issued advisory-level travel and conditions guidance via CATAlert and VT-Alert
The university later mobilized flood-relief and rapid-research efforts, reflecting its StormReady-certified emergency posture
Outcome
The storm caused two deaths and more than $1 billion in damage across Vermont. UVM's hilltop Burlington campus avoided catastrophic flooding, but the university issued advisories about travel and conditions and later organized relief and rapid-research efforts as the state recovered.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UVM Experts on Vermont's 2023 Historic Flood - UVM News
    uvm.edu
  2. Official
    Flooding in Vermont, USA - July 2023 - Copernicus Emergency Management
    global-flood.emergency.copernicus.eu
  3. Official
    CATAlert - Campus Alerting System - University of Vermont
    uvm.edu
  4. News
    Live updates: Major flooding causes road closures and evacuations across Vermont - Vermont Public
    vermontpublic.org
Tags
floodingvermontuniversity-of-vermontweatheradvisorystate-of-emergency
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion