First 'Epic' Flood Brought Change; Will Irene?

AP/Toby Talbot, File

In this 1927 photo from the Vermont State Archives, work is done on Route 107 following the flood of 1927 in Bethel. The same section of road was affected by Tropical Storm Irene.

Vermont officials helping the state recover from Tropical Storm Irene say the long-term changes in the state produced by the storm could rival those prompted by the great flood of 1927.

Almost since the rain stopped last August people have compared the damage caused by Irene to the flood of ‘27, which experts say still rates as Vermont's greatest natural disaster.

Many say the '27 flood fundamentally changed the state physically, politically and socially, ushering the state into the 20th century.

Vermont's chief recovery officer, Sue Minter, is overseeing what she hopes will create similar, long-term changes. She says the state's bridge engineers, who rebuilt destroyed spans in record time after Irene, are rethinking their jobs to build bridges faster and less expensively.