PICTURED: New York woman, 35, killed when monster wave ripped her house out the ground

A New York woman was killed when a monster flash flood wave ripped her house out of the ground – as Vermont is expected to be battered with up to six inches of rainfall overnight.  

Pamela Nugent, 35, drowned while trying to flee her home in Highland Falls, New York, with her dog on Monday during the catastrophic flooding. Rescue teams recovered her body from the bottom of a ravine.

Devastating downpours have blocked roads and battered homes across the East Coast, and more havoc is expected to hit in the early hours of Tuesday morning.  

Nugent – who was recently engaged to her partner before she drowned in the horrific flooding – was remembered by her neighbor Jessica Eshleman.

Eshleman told ABC7: ‘I’m still kind of in shock. I lost everything.’ She said that Nugent, her fiancee, and her dad tried to get to higher ground.

She said: ‘And then they made it across, and I guess she freaked out and panicked, she tried to make it across with the dog, it just happened too suddenly.’ 

Pamela Nugent, 35, drowned while trying to flee her home in Highland Falls with her dog on Monday during the catastrophic flooding

An aerial view of Pamela Nugent’s neighborhood, where she was  killed in flooding yesterday

Vermont State Police have warned that flooding and torrential rain will cause havoc in the state overnight on Monday

Another neighbor who knew Nugent said: ‘When anybody dies, it’s a shame. The circumstances of how it happened, that makes it even worse.’ 

The lashing rains of the storm soaked New York on Sunday, causing flash flooding near West Point, where the military academy is based, and surrounding towns.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday warned that while the storm had passed, the damage was catastrophic.

‘This was a frightening, life-threatening experience,’ she said, adding that she’d spoken with the White House to request federal aid.

She said about Nugent: ‘Her house was taking too much water, she was with her dog and her fiancé literally saw her swept away.’

Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said: ‘She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog and she was overwhelmed by tidal wave-type waves.’  

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said about Nugent: ‘Her house was taking too much water, she was with her dog and her fiancé literally saw her swept away’

Pamela Nugent with her fiance. He watched her get swept away in the ordeal

A damaged car lays on part of a collapsed roadway along Route 32 in the Hudson Valley near Cornwall, N.Y., Monday, July 10, 2023

A general view of a flooded area, in Ludlow, Vermont

Footage this evening showed Ludlow, Vermont, completely under water as the roads turned to rivers amid the devastating torrent

Millions of people across New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine and Pennsylvania remain subject to flash flood warnings.

The epicenter of the flooding was in Hudson Valley, NY, on Monday, but going into Tuesday Vermont is expected to be worst hit. 

Vermont State Police said in an alert: ‘Dangerous flooding is continuing this afternoon throughout most of Vermont. 

‘Almost three dozen state roads are closed due to high water, and additional closures are possible as rivers and streams continue to rise. This figure does not include town roads.’ 

Footage this evening showed Ludlow, Vermont, completely under water as the roads turned to rivers amid the devastating torrent. 

In a press release Monday night, the Vermont Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management said swift water rescue teams have been working ‘primarily in the towns of Londonderry, Weston, Bridgewater, Andover, Ludlow and Middlesex.’ 

Rivers are expected to crest overnight at flood levels, they warned. 

Dams in Jamaica and Townshend are expected to ‘release large quantities of water over their spillways’ overnight.  

Cars drift on the main road into West Point after a ‘1000 year’ rain event drowned the riverside town, leaving at least one dead and destroying homes and roads

Emergency teams went house to house yesterday in Stony Point, New York, looking for anyone who needed to be rescued. One woman drowned trying to leave her home with her dog in Highland Falls, near West Point 

In a grave prediction, the National Weather Service in Vermont said the storms could be ‘potentially catastrophic’ and as bad as those brought by Hurricane Irene in 2011.

‘Expect significant to potentially catastrophic widespread flash flooding through Monday evening, with possible impacts not seen since Irene,’ the Weather Service said in a forecast.

Vermont State Police say roads have already been closed as a result of the flooding, with more closures expected.

‘Serious, life-threatening flooding is occurring today across much of Vermont.

‘Emergency crews have conducted rescues in multiple communities. 

‘Flash flood warnings are in effect from the Massachusetts line to the Canadian border,’ an announcement on the force’s Twitter account said.

At a press conference, Vermont Governor Phil Scott warned: ‘We have not seen rainfall like this since Irene and in some cases it will surpass that.’

Nineteen people have been rescued by boat in Vermont already.

In Burlington, Vermont, the ground has already received 300 percent of its normal rainfall in the last two weeks – making it ‘high risk.’  

Some towns in south Londonderry and Ludlow are inaccessible, as is the town of Vermont.

Floodwaters pouring over the dam this morning on the Ottauquechee River near Simon Pearce in Quechee. The Vermont State Police is bracing for widespread damage with historic rain on the way

Flooding surrounds a parking lot, in Highland Falls, Orange County, New York, U.S. The rain has passed the Empire State but the damage is widespread 

Camp workers in Plymouth are being evacuated and emergency experts are carefully monitoring dams across the state to prevent further flooding.

Hurricane Irene left 49 people dead after tearing through the Caribbean and the East Coast.

On Sunday in New York, Cornwall, which is on the western shore of the Hudson River, also declared a State of Emergency.

Neuhaus said the village of Highland Falls, near West Point,  was the scene of ‘an absolute war zone.’ 

Predicting that repairs to fix the ‘massive’ water damage would take months, he added; ‘It’s a tough situation, lots of people are trying to fight their way in to help us.’ 

State Senator James Skoufis confirmed that ‘vital infrastructure and homes were washed away,’ during the catastrophic weather event.  

Rockland County Executive Ed Day said six hikers had to be rescued from the surrounding, flooded location – as well as dozens of drivers – who got caught in the intense downpours. 

Day said: ‘Orange County and Rockland county fire depts rescued 40 people from their cars at the long mountain circle at the top of the palisades parkway.’