the catastrophe after irene’s exit record-to-near-record flooding in new england and canada is...
TRANSCRIPT
THE CATASTROPHE AFTER IRENE’S EXIT
RECORD-TO-NEAR-RECORD FLOODING IN NEW ENGLAND AND
CANADA IS STILL HAPPENING
AUGUST 29---?, 2011
Dr. Walter Hays,
Global Alliance For Disaster Reduction
AUG 28: FORECAST OF IRENE’S EXIT
IRENE CAUSED A $10+ BILLION DISASTER
(Note: the final economic toll is not known yet)
Irene smashed power poles, ripped transmission wires and flooded electrical stations over
the weekend, blacked out more than 7.4 million homes and businesses from South Carolina to Maine, and killed
38 people
---BUT A CATASTROPHE IS STILL BUILDING
New England and neighboring states like New York are still
on high alert for major flooding during the next
several days as rivers overflow from the runoff of Irene’s
storm surge and heavy rainfall.
Flooding is also expected in Eastern Canada, especially
in Quebec, where about 250,000 homes are without
power.
NOTE:IT WILL TAKE WEEKS FOR THE RIVERS TO RECEDE
AND RETURN TO NORMAL LEVELS
VERMONT
Flooding from the storm, which passed through on Sunday afternoon (Aug 28), essentially shut Southern
Vermont down
Several feet of water flooded downtown Brattleboro during
the afternoon, and smaller towns in Windham and
Bennington Counties faced “catastrophic” flooding in
some neighborhoods..
In Vermont (and upstate New York), normally placid
streams turned into raging torrents and rapidly moved
tree limbs, cars, and parts of bridges down stream..
Vermont's mountainous terrain amplified the effects
of Irene's flooding by increasing the velocity of
stream flow while increasing the runoff time.
VERMONT: Worst flooding in the state since 1927
• Whole communities under water: businesses, homes, roads, bridges, rail systems, and crops
• Vermont’s Emergency Operations Center was under-water and had to be relocated.
VERMONT: FLOODING
VERMONT: FLOODING
VERMONT: ROADS WASHED OUT
WINOOSKI RIVER: WATERBURY, VT
WATERBURY, VT
VERMONT FLOODING
VERMONT: 3 OF THE ICONIC BRIDGES FAILED
VERMONT: FLOODING
The problem is NOT that Irene passed north along Vermont’s
border with New York and unleashed far more rain than
expected on Vermont; IT’S A RUNOFF PROBLEM
THAT IS STILL HAPPENING
NOTE:
Too much water after flooding and its quality is a major factor in health care
problems.