BEVERLY, MASS. (WHDH) - It was mission complete Tuesday for a task force of responders from Massachusetts who were sent to Vermont to help with rescue and recovery efforts after devastating flooding last week.
The group returned to Beverly where one member spoke to 7NEWS about her experience on the ground.
“We got to use our training to do exactly what we wanted to do,” said Massachusetts Task Force 1 Safety Officer Leah Shatkin.
The 45 members of the task force set out on July 10. Over the ensuing days, task force members braved treacherous conditions to rescue about 30 people from floodwaters that surrounded homes and buildings.
“To be in a community on a city street with your local CVS and your Mazda dealership and have a river essentially running downstream cutting off access to people in need is kind of an eye opening thing,” Shatkin said.
In addition to personnel, the task force sent boats and other equipment to Vermont to help with rescue efforts amid record breaking rainfall.
The team then spent several days helping with cleanup efforts.
“The community and environment they love is undergoing some real devastation,” Shatkin said. “That’s a lot of emotion.”
With little time to process the weight of emotions while performing rescues in recent days, members are now able to take a moment to pause and reflect.
“It doesn’t necessarily take place until we get to come back and see our families again and return to our houses and settle in and take a deep breath and say ‘Hey man that was pretty amazing,’” Shatkin said.
Flooding caused damage in several communities around Vermont. Floodwaters also impacted parts of New Hampshire, New York and western Massachusetts.
At least two people died as a result of recent storms and flooding, as reported by the Associated Press.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)