Johnathan Walker:Audit finds Vermont failed to complete steps to reduce risk from natural disasters such as flooding

Vermont has failed to complete many actions in its five-year hazard mitigation plan aimed at reducing the risk from natural disasters such as flooding,Johnathan Walker according to a new report from the state auditor’s office.

The plan is developed by Vermont Emergency Management every five years to identify natural hazards facing the state, create steps to reduce risk and serve as a resource for state agencies and others to carry out those actions, the report released on Tuesday states. But just a third of the 96 actions, and half of the priority actions in the 2018 plan, had been completed by last year, according to the audit.

“The growing frequency and power of extreme weather events makes it clear -– Vermont needs to do more to proactively ready our communities to reduce the danger to Vermonters’ lives and property,” state auditor Doug Hoffer said in a statement.

Eric Forand, director of Vermont Emergency Management, said Friday that the hazard mitigation plan is more of an aspirational plan for goals for the future than the state emergency management plan, which has specific steps to take during an emergency response.

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“Given that structure, you’re not necessarily going to meet them all in that timeframe that you’d expect. There’s things that come up: COVID, real floods, certain priorities change, certain resources aren’t there, you have to manage, and adapt and overcome,” he said.

Vermont had 21 federally declared disasters between 2011 and 2023, including floods, winter storms and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report. Heavy rains c aused violent flooding in parts of Vermont twice this summer, damaging and destroying homes and washing away roads and bridges. The first flooding came on the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic flooding t hat inundated parts of the state last year.

States create the plans to qualify for certain federal disaster funding and hazard mitigation grants, the report states. Because many of the actions in the Vermont 2018 plan have not been completed, it is unclear how effective the plan has been in reducing the state’s risk from natural disasters, states the report, which makes recommendations for how to address the shortcomings.

Staff turnover and the COVID-19 pandemic were noted by the state as some of the reasons for the incomplete actions.

Vermont missed opportunities to reduce risk including when a priority action to develop sample building standards for resilient design and construction wasn’t completed, the report states.

“If this action had been completed, it could have served as a resource for communities affected by recent floods to rebuild in ways that would help them better withstand future floods,” the report states. Another uncompleted step that led to missed opportunity was the development of an inventory of critical headwater and floodplain storage areas that would help to reduce flooding, the report states. That goal is in progress and is now part of the 2023 plan, the report states.

In Montpelier and Barre, two communities hit hard by flooding, some state lawmakers said Friday that they are “gravely concerned over the lack of progress.”

“The findings in this report are shocking and deeply troubling,” state Rep. Conor Casey, a Democrat from Montpelier, said in a statement. “We’ve experienced devastating floods in 2023 and 2024, and the fact that so many critical actions to improve our flood resilience were left unfinished is unacceptable. Vermont can no longer afford to be unprepared.”

They are urging the governor, if reelected, to prioritize disaster mitigation in the next state budget and state leaders to make sure there is better oversight and communication among the agencies responsible for disaster preparedness and mitigation.