Vermonters survey devastating flood damage

The flooding left in the wake of Irene is mostly over - but Vermont has an unknown number of people in the mountains who've been stranded by washed-out roads and bridges.

The forecast for Tuesday is for more rain in some parts of the state. The National Weather Service said some Vermont rivers still haven't reached their peak. In Rutland the Otter Creek was still more than three feet above flood stage on Monday, and won't drop below flood stage until Wednesday.

In Windham County, Vt., Sheriff Keith Clark said so many roads were destroyed he can't count the number of people who might be missing in the hills - and who can't call for assistance because phone and power lines are down, reports CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews.

"There are places in my county I can't get to yet," Sheriff Clark said. "I am worried about that. People that are isolated, we know in one town people that are on dialysis that can't get out to get their treatments. We're trying to get vehicles to them."

Around midday Sunday in central Vermont, 8 to 10 inches of rain fell so quickly the Rock and West Rivers rose dramatically - 12 to 15 feet.

That rushing wall of water buckled dozens of county roads, washed out an unknown number of bridges, and washed whole houses off the hillside and onto the street.

One wing of Norma Shakun's home is buried in debris.

"I was worried about the wind, and nobody talked about flooding," Shakun said. "Nobody warned us about flooding until five minutes before we were told to leave the house."

Three Vermonters were killed, and a fourth is missing. Nationwide, the death toll from Hurricane Irene is at least 40.

Part of a lodge collapsed at the Killington Ski Resort, and about 300 guests and 100 employees are stranded there because of road damage.

Central Vermont Public Service says 19,000 customers remain without power due to downed lines and damaged or destroyed electric substations.

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In nearby Brattleboro, four inches of mud washed onto low-level streets. Governor Peter Shumlin, on an inspection tour with Senator Patrick Leahy, asked emergency crews to search for anyone stranded and in need of help.

"If we can avoid further loss of life, we know that we can rebuild," Shumlin said. "We'll pull through this. Vermonters are tough. We're resilient and we'll get back on our feet."

The head of FEMA, Craig Fugate, is traveling to Vermont today to check out the damage. And the residents themselves are taking action: At a community meeting last night in Williamsville, Vt., Andrews reports, a list was made of people who were stranded and needed medicine.

Appearing Tuesday morning on CBS' "The Early Show," Governor Shumlin said his state was "whacked hard," but praised the determination of Vermonters to recover.

"It's devastating," Shumlin told CBS News' Jeff Glor. "You're looking at roads and bridges that have been washed out, houses that have been removed. You know, we literally lost a cemetery. But the thing about Vermont is, we're a small community, we're resilient, we take care of each other. And we're getting tremendous help from the federal government. President Obama has committed to giving us all the help that we need.

"I think it's important to know that while we got whacked hard, we knew we were going to get whacked hard, we were warned we were going to get whacked hard. We prepared for that. Our emergency management folks, National Guard, our men and women in uniform are doing a great job getting help where it's needed. ... But we're now going into recovery mode here, assessing damage, and we're going to have to rebuild as quickly as we know how."