This commentary is by Sen. Anne Watson, D/P-Washington. She is chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. She has served in the Vermont Senate since 2023 and was previously Montpelier’s mayor from 2018 to 2022.
It has been heartbreaking to see flash flooding occur in Vermont for the past three summers, and increasingly around the country as well.
I, for one, do not want to let this kind of news begin to feel normal. This is not the Vermont I grew up in. It is already hotter and wetter from climate change, and there are a number of things we can do as individuals, homeowners and renters to be prepared for the next natural disaster.
What the last three years have taught me is that flooding and erosion can impact anyone anywhere in Vermont, depending on what areas receive intense rainfall. So it’s important that we are all prepared for that possibility.
Every choice we make matters — and the choices we make right now will affect how prepared we are for our next natural disaster. Here are some practical steps you and your family can take to be better prepared for potential flooding events. Some of them may apply to you, some may not, but these are taken directly from Vermont Emergency Management’s website:
- Install “check valves” in sewer traps to prevent flood water from backing up into the drains in your home.
- Ensure your home is ready. Where possible, minimize damage from basement flooding by elevating utilities and materials that could be damaged by limited basement flooding.
- Anchor fuel tanks to ensure that they do not wash away, which can create a safety and environmental issue inside or outside of the home.
- Develop a family emergency kit, which could include food and water, medications, a first aid kit, and a flashlight with extra batteries, amongst other things.
- Make a family communication plan. Designate an out-of-state relative as a central point of contact.
- Be prepared to turn off electrical power when there is standing water, fallen power lines or before you evacuate. Know how to safely turn off gas and water supplies before you evacuate.
- Contact your insurance agent or local government to discuss flood insurance coverage.
Other recommendations from ready.gov include: knowing evacuation routes, safeguarding documents and planning with your neighbors.
Also, if you have not signed up for VT-Alerts — which, according to the state’s website, is “used to notify the public of emergency situations,” such as evacuation information, severe weather advisories and roadway interruptions — now would be a great time to do that.
You can sign up by following the instructions on the VT-Alert website. WCAX reports that only 90,000 Vermonters have signed up to receive these alerts — 14% of the state’s total population. I would highly recommend doing so to anyone living or working in Vermont.
Finally, I’ll add one recommendation of my own. Since we know these events are driven and exacerbated by climate change, we all also have an obligation to do what we can to reduce our fossil fuel consumption.
Thankfully, most renewable alternatives are much cheaper to operate than their fossil fuel counterparts. Maybe this means taking the bus or carpooling; leasing or buying an EV or plug-in hybrid; or adding a heat pump, pellet stove or another renewable heating system.
For each of us the solutions may look different, but it’s important that we are all looking to take that next step toward the ways in which we can reduce carbon pollution.
Meanwhile, the Legislature will continue to have more work to do this next session to protect and prepare Vermont for potential natural disasters. This includes ensuring that Vermont’s dams are safe and that we are protecting our wetlands to help prevent and reduce the risks from these kinds of events in the future.
We all have a part to play. We can all make a difference to ensure that our families and neighbors are safe and able to weather the storms that we know are likely to continue on into the future.
You can access multi-language translations, a free workbook and other resources on the Vermont Emergency Management website.
