Vermont battles epic flooding throughout state

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- A Vermont utility says receding water levels means engineers will not have to release water from the threatened Marshfield Dam, which would have reduced pressure on the dam but raised levels of the already swollen Winooski River.

Green Mountain Power spokeswoman Dorothy Schnure says water levels have stabilized, but engineers are continuing to monitor the situation. About 350 people downstream from the dam were evacuated as a precaution.

Almost 50,000 Vermont utility customers were without power Monday, hundreds of roads were closed and a number of bridges destroyed by the "epic" flooding caused by by the remnants of Hurricane Irene.

Flooding from the Winooski River inundated the village of Waterbury, forcing Vermont Emergency Management to move its emergency operations center to Burlington.

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