Some of the people who were flooded by Tropical
Storm Irene have been out their homes for five months now. Some say they’re grieving, as if someone close to them has died. One family in Londonderry is also counting its blessings.
We learn about the funding available for Hazard Mitigation, the role flood insurance has played post-Irene and hear about the asbestos controversy raging in Canada.
More than half of the people displaced by Irene
are still unsettled. Many are waiting on a government buy-back program to help
them move forward. And many are still dealing with the trauma of
the day that the floods washed over their homes. On the day of the flood a family from Wardsboro thought they might not survive.
A lot of Vermonters displaced by Irene are hoping their home will be bought out
by the FEMA hazard mitigation program, which pays up to 75 percent of the home’s
pre-storm fair market value.
Five months ago, the floodwaters brought by Irene clawed at the
landscape, pulling some homes down river and damaging others.
Fourteen-hundred homes were devastated, including one in Newfane whose owners witnessed their
entire home wash away.
VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb talks with Vermont’s Irene Recovery Officer, Sue Minter about the challenges the state faces in helping the most vulnerable, whose lives were thrown into chaos by Irene.