Vermont Flooding Engulfs a Ski Town.
They were not alone. Their town of 2,100 people had suffered some of the worst flooding in the state amid more than seven inches of rain. It was part of a broad corridor of destruction that also included the capital, Montpelier, 80 miles to the north, and Barre, where the state’s first death from the storm was reported on Wednesday after a 63-year-old man drowned in his home.
It was a painful setback for Vermont at the height of its summer tourist season. Tourism pumps $3 billion into its economy each year and employs at least 30,000 people, as 13 million visitors flock to take in the sweeping mountain views and covered bridges. While much of the state was untouched by the flooding — even in Ludlow, which is in south-central Vermont, some businesses were unscathed — national news coverage of disasters typically leads to a wave of cancellations.
In Ludlow — first settled by farmers in 1783, later home to woolen mills powered by the river, and now best known as the home of Okemo Mountain Resort — momentum had been building. Since Vail Resorts bought the ski area in 2018, upgrading lifts and boosting marketing and year-round recreation, new businesses had sprung up to serve new visitors.
The success of other young entrepreneurs, whose cocktail bars and freshly styled motels enlivened Main Street, had emboldened Ms. Prasse and Mr. Kovalsky, who had both snowboarded in Vermont as children and had roamed its back roads for months in search of the perfect place to put down roots.
Source: The New York Times
