The flooding in Vermont could not be stopped. It is a matter of physics, not policy.

Hurricane Irene (click here)

It is impossible to stop the flooding of such a vast amount of rain in Vermont.

Officials Ask Vermonters To Prepare For Hurricane Irene  (click here)

Friday, 08/26/11 7:34am

Vermont as noted in the physical map below is more mountains than low lands.  The water runs off the mountains into the low lands.  A lot of water in such geographical dynamics translates into a lot of flooding.  Just that simple.  There is nothing else to explain.  I have never seen a reservoir at the foot of every mountain to prevent flooding.  It could be done if the nation wants to spend a trillion or more over the next decade. 

Officials prep sandbags, shelter for storm (click title to entry - thank you)

NEAL P. GOSWAMI

Posted: 08/26/2011 11:21:39 PM EDT

Friday August 26, 2011BENNINGTON -- Local officials continued to prepare Friday for severe weather over the weekend as Hurricane Irene continued to track toward the Northeast.
Bennington Police Chief and Public Safety Director Paul Doucette said the town was preparing 1,000 sandbags to protect low-lying areas from flooding. Emergency officials also made plans to open the Mount Anthony Union Middle School as an emergency shelter, should one be necessary....

If anyone wants to make this into a story that was exploited for political purposes they will be showing how completely partisan, removed from reality and stupid they actually are

The ONLY political 'hot potato' that exists with Irene is why hasn't the USA government been more involved in reversing the Climate Crisis.  Now, if the Right Wing wants to try that topic for a change to lead the pack on change then that would be a historic first..


August 29, 2011, 12:27 PM

How Irene Lived Up to the Hype (click here)

By NATE SILVER

...I don’t know. What’s easier to evaluate is how much coverage Hurricane Irene received in comparison with other hurricanes. By that standard, the coverage was quite proportionate to the amount of death and destruction that the storm caused....