/canada border near montpelier, vermont. irene's impact is deep and widespread and won't be forgotten. at least 18 people lost their lives from florida to new england. power is out to about 4 million homes and businesses. it might not come back for days. along the east coast, many people are thankful irene didn't live up to expectations. in vermont, it appeard it is opposite is happening. people were caught off guard by the onslaught of the flooding from irene. the state ordered no early mandatory evacuations. now rescue teams are scrambling to save people. it looks like the worst may have happened with the report of a woman missing. much of the action is happening in vermont where cnn's gary tuchman is in brattleboro. gary? [ no audio ] >> reporter: unfortunately, marty, throughout vermont there is a lot of chaos and confusion. there are hundreds of creeks and brooks like this. this is the wetstone brook but it is no longer a brook. it now resembles the colorado rapids. throughout the state there have been reports of people

montpelier could be worse because of a threatened dam. record floodwaters are about to utility companies -- officials say record floodwaters are about to top the dam upriver from the capitol. to save it they may have to release the backed up water. hundreds of nearby residents have by told they may have to leave their homes just in case. the storm left a wake of destruction up and down the east coast. at least 21 people were killed. most of them from falling trees. 4.5 million people are without power, and some places may stay that way for days. the damage from irene estimated at up to $7 billion. president obama says even though the storm may have passed, it's still a threat. >> many americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks. so i want people to understand that this is not over. >> in new jersey more than 800,000 people are without power this morning. all across the state trees came crashing down, knocking over power lines. the rains floode

more evacuations are likely in the capital city of montpelier.pected to crest at 2 20 feet. in greenfield, massachusetts, the river overflowed its banks turning streets into a swimming pool. irene has lost much of its punch by the time it got to the area, but it still raked over parts of massachusetts with 60-mile-per-hour winds, strong enough to topple trees and knock out electricity to tens of thousands. it could be a week before power is fully resesred. >>> also, new jersey and pennsylvania got their faiai share of flooding as well in all of this. at least four people were killed in the philadelphia area. rescuers are working around the clock. more from abc's dan harris. >> reporter: vineland, new jersey, five teenagers whose boat capsized in a raging crook, hanging on for their lives until firefighters launched a risky mission, pajdzing through trees and branches to pull them to safety. >> we didn't realize the current was as song as it was. basically as we were coming up we realized, wow, it's getting really strong. >> reporter: white marsh

high tide is expected in northern vermont about three hours from now in montpelier. there is concern of flooding in the capitol city. last time a hurricane or tropical storm storm affected the area was 73 years ago. they are not used to it. you can see the raging rapids. vermont didn't expect to be affected like this by irene. back to you. >> any idea how long they will be under the gun so to speak from the water? >> reporter: say that one more time? >> how long do you think it is that the state will continue to be threatened by the high water? >> reporter: oh, that's a very good question. no one is able to answer it because this has never happened in this particular area in brattleboro in southern vermont. we have talked to old timers who lived here a long time. they have never seen it and they don't know how long it will last. we do know earlier in the day this was covered with water. the water has receded. you still have raging rapids there and this isn't the only building that's near this brook. there are other buildings here, too. a lot of neighbors are scared f

they expect more problems tonight in northern vermont including in the capitol of montpelier. this building could be soon plunging into the wetstone brook which is now rapids. marty? >> thank you very much, gary. we asked vice president's governor why he ordered no mandatory evacuations as others did. he said nearly everyone in vermont lives near water. >> the problem with vermont is all of the downtowns are in the low lands. our population centers are near rivers and streams. you can't get away from it in a little state like vermont. we are a state of mountains with rivers flowing through them. it's not like a mid western state or some of the big southern states where you have huge areas of dry land. we don't have that here nor does new hampshire. >> more than 100 roads are closed in the state due to flooding. let's get the latest now on where irene is. for that we turn to chad myers at the cnn hurricane head quarters. >> it's a wide storm. like it hasn't been the whole time really. we have 40 miles per hour winds in boston. we have 30 miles per hour winds in new york city an

. >>> montpelier, the capital, is bracing for major emergency ahead of a river crest early monday. along the eastern seaboard, more than 4 million people are tonight without electricity. at least 20 deaths are being blamed on irene in seven states. among the victims, an 11-year-old boy killed by a falling tree. >>> it is far too early for an accurate estimate of damages but wind damage alone projected to top $1 billion. the carolinas alone could reach $400 million. a firm estimates by way of comparison private insurance payouts from hurricane katrina totalled $45 billion, not including flood losses. where is irene now? well, speeding into southeast canada and still packing damaging winds. stay with cnn for the latest on the damage caused by hurricane irene. >>> in lincoln, nebraska, 53-year-old teacher tom bare has emerged from 3 1/2-hour bypass surgery an operation that required his heart to be stopped for more than an hour. he's in the intensive cardiac care unit, the first stop on a slow, painful recovery. >> a little stiff, a little sore, a little hoarse, a little tired. but ot

some in montpelier and elsewhere but the southern part of the state, as you fly over and you see bridges out, roads that have just been torn apart, it's awkward. also the capriciousness of it. you fly along. you see a small town and everything is in fine shape. fields, farm fields are fine. you go just a mile or so further and you see houses that have tumbled into the river. the road is carved out, totally impassable. the fields, the farm fields where the harvests should be coming in very soon are just ruined. a whole summer's work is gone. that's the bad part. the good part though, the spirit of the people here in vermont, i've talked to many, many people i know. many i didn't know. they were working to try to clean up. i saw one person who was helping to shovel out the muck from businesses that have been badly damaged. i said, "do you work here?" he said, "no, no, i live the next town over. i figured these people needed help so i just came over and volunteered." you're seeing an awful lot of that. >> ifill: we're seeing reports that people have been cut off and stranded. how are you ge

some in montpelier and elsewhere. but the southern part of the state, as you fly over and you see bridges out, roads that have just been torn apart, it's awkward. also the capriciousness of it. you fly along and you see a small town and everything is in fine shape. fields, farm fields are fine. you go just a mile or so further and you see houses that have tumbled into the river. the road is carve out totally impassable. the fields, the farm fields where the harvest should be coming in very soon are just ruined. a whole summer's work is gone. so that's the bad part. >> ifill: we've seen reports that people have been cut off and stranded. how are you getting water and supplies (no audio). >> fortunately we have our vermont natural guard even though a lot of their equipment is over in iraq, they've used the equipment they have. i think they'll probably be helped by other states that were using their helicoptering in food and supplies. they will build temporary brings, temporary roads, get trucks of water in. we can take

and you go to presidential establishments -- mount vernon, monticello, recently montpelier, james madison'some in virginia has become a sort of museum and center -- and here they're wonderful institutions because they have brought together every conceivable object, paper. i know, i've been writing a little bit about the madison house, and they have surveyed all the general region, they've found furniture that madison had owned and touched, articles of clothing, toothpicks, spectacles, everything you can think of. [laughter] and they're all lovingly collected and under glass which i think is wonderful. but if you look at it from a sightly skew as i do, it's kind of interesting, too, the way we retrieve these things. and i think it also, it also belies the idea that americans are not interested in our history. i think we're deeply interested in our history. not every american is as interested in others, but i think our presidential libraries and museums definitely, definitely reflect a national interest in our, in our past. um, now, if you'll forgive a die depression, the reason i mentioned a

he's in the cap lutolf montpelier. senator, thanks very much.all, our condolences to you, to all the people in vermont, for the fatalities. have you ever seen anything like this in your state? >> no, we haven't. there -- i'm not an historian, wolf, but there are some who believe that this is the worst natural disaster to hit the state since the 1927 floods. three people are dead. one person is missing: we're talking about hundreds of road closures. you're talking about the rail lines being shut down. the state office complex being shut down. many hundreds of homes, some of which i visited today have been flooded. the state plex, the state office workers complex, where most state workers are located, is new non-functional, so we've got some serious problems. >> were the people of vermont adequately warned about this disaster? >> yeah. i think they were. the problem is what could not have been anticipated is that six to eight inches of rain fell in a very short period of time, and -- and brooks suddenly became, you know, raging rivers and that cau

in the capitol of montpelier, officials are urging residents to leave and they might have to flood thats overflowing. they hope the rain let's up and they don't have to do that. >> brian: if you're trying to get on a flight, here is your airport update. jfk and newark airports reopened for arrivals only. departures begin at noon. la guard guardia open to arrivals and departures. delays are still expected, in addition to the cancellations that grounded roughly 650,000 people over the weekend. according to a flight aware.com, there are typically 31,000 domestic flights on an average monday during the summer travel season. today more than 1500 flights won't even operate as planes and crew members are repositioned. >> steve: planes are in the wrong place. >> brian: nearly all of new york city's subway lines are up and running on a limited schedule. the first weather-related shut down in the city's history. that's the first for amtrak trains. all service from boston to philadelphia canceled. your best bet? call amtrak or check the web site. >> alisyn: it was incredible to be in manhattan thi

they moved to lend his parents home in montpelier, where i was bored, to care for her mother was living with alzheimer's disease. sadly, brickell's degenerative arthritis forced her into retirement. now she's regular and painful treatment. linda was denied family medical leave to care for herself because doma does not recognize her vermont marriage which is a lawful vermont marriage. just one example of american families unfair treatment because of doma. many other vermont families reached out to share their experience, where small business owners pay more in federal taxes because they are not allowed to file like other married couples do. young couples are attacks when their employer provides health insurance to their spouse. there are working parents of teenaged children's, retirees with reason of life care. these are powerful stories. and there are stories, all of them will be part of the hearing record. the respect of marriage act would allow all couples were married under state law to be eligible for the same federal protections afforded every other lawfully married couple. nothing