According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, the United States has seen 20 weather or climate-related disasters, accounting for over $53 billion in damages.
“We’ve seen over the last few years, flooding is an emerging risk throughout the state,” said Randy Collins, the associate director of public policy at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which released a study on flood mitigation in the state.
“It really is a problem that affects both urban, suburban, rural communities,” Collins said.
In Southbury, the community is still recovering nearly a month after storm waters hit the town.
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“It was a unique event,” Southbury Head Librarian Heather Aronson said. “We haven’t experienced anything close to this.”
The town’s only library remains closed indefinitely as it cleans up, and staff are operating out of the town hall.
“We need new boilers, new HVAC systems, all that king of stuff,” Emergency Management Director Stephen Schnell said. “We have subcontractors in there cleaning and taking all the debris out and then essentially disinfecting the entire basement. There is already some mold that was growing down there.”
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He said the library lost approximately 40,000 items in its basement, which saw six to eight feet of flood water and 10,000 square feet of debris.
NASA experts say climate is leading to increased extreme weather events, but Collins sad there is a way to mitigate storm flooding.
“The idea of working towards getting dedicated funding,” he said. “Looking at what is the need, you know, not just today, but you know, can we anticipate what infrastructure we are going to need?”
He said a partnership between local governments, the state and the federal government is crucial.
“It’s too big an issue for individual municipalities to completely handle,” Collins said. “When you look at the scope of what some of these projects are, you’re talking tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities also suggest updating flood maps.
