Dam in the US threatens to burst after heavy rain Three-quarters of a billion people are starving

Flooding caused by heavy rainfall in the northeast of the US has caused authorities to worry about the stability of a dam. The Wrightsville Dam in the state of Vermont has reached its capacity limit and could break in a worst-case scenario, local authorities warned Tuesday (local time), according to media reports. “The devastation and flooding we are witnessing throughout Vermont is historic and catastrophic,” said Governor Phil Scott. The flooding has been compared to the effects of Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Vermont’s capital, Montpelier, was particularly hard hit, with much of downtown flooded. The photos included kayakers paddling down a flooded road. Meanwhile, rescue and clean-up efforts in the flooded areas continued.

In neighboring New York state, the death of a woman was reported Monday as a result of the unusually heavy rains. The 30-year-old drowned in Orange County while trying to escape with her dog from a house surrounded by water, a county spokesman said. The region around the Hudson River, which leads to New York City, was particularly affected.

The flood coincides with a number of other extreme weather events in North America and around the world. Canada is experiencing an unprecedented wildfire season, with thick clouds of smoke covering even some major US cities such as New York and Chicago. In addition, a heat wave is rolling towards the southwest of the US – in the city of Phoenix in Arizona, temperatures of almost 50 degrees are feared. Scientists blame the man-made climate crisis on the increased occurrence of extreme weather events.

(yam/sda/dpa)