Vermont Storm Exposes the Strengths, and Limits, of New Flood Defenses
Vermont, a state known for peaceful green mountains, grazing cows and tidy covered bridges, is not often seen as a place where mudslides threaten highways, rivers churn with debris and murky, propane-fouled floodwaters fill downtown streets.
But those kinds of images of destruction were seared into memory when Tropical Storm Irene battered Vermont in 2011, and led to a drastic reassessment of how to protect the state against storms supercharged by a warming climate.
A forceful storm walloped Vermont again this week, causing severe flooding, damaging thousands of homes and businesses, and revealing the effectiveness of some mitigation measures taken since Irene. At the same time, officials and experts said, the storm demonstrated the need for ongoing adaptation, as storms become more extreme and less predictable.
Source: The New York Times
