PRESS RELEASE
Brown center investigates “What have we learned from the March 2010 floods?”
On Thursday morning, March 24, 2011, the Center for Environmental Studies at Brown University hosted a public event and panel discussion to release the findings of a six-part report on the March 2010 Floods. Six students, representing the twenty-one student team who conducted the research, presented the major findings in each of the report’s chapters to an audience of Brown students, Providence citizens, government officials, and visiting scholars.
The panel included Rachel Calabro, Community Organizer & Advocate at Save the Bay, who pointed out that the Pawcatuck River did not cause as extensive flooding like the Pawtuxet because the Pawcatuck has more intact vegetation and less paved areas. "The Pawcatuck watershed held water longer," she said, supporting the findings of the Brown report.
Calabro also pointed out the grave risk posed by the state's 671 dams, half of which are privately owned, and many of these are poorly maintained.Following three dam failures, "there was $1.3 million in damage to roads," Calabro added.
Community leaders, such as Paul Salera from West Bay Community Action were also in attendance. Salera reflected that many people are still repairing their homes and businesses today. "The report was spot on," he said, referring to the report chapter on which social groups suffered the most from the floods. On a positive note, Salera mentioned "We learned that non-profits, faith-based, and community-based groups have to work together" in responding to disasters in the state.
“The situation was ripe for chaos, miscommunication, and disaster,” said student, Charlene Kim, co-author of the emergency management chapter. “But with some luck, Rhode Island averted the worst. No one died and, in the end, damage was limited to properties and the ecosystem.”
Bill Patenaude of the state Department of Environmental Management commented on the emergency management chapter of the report. "I would have written the same report--and you all weren't even there." Patenaude also advised that there is important information from the River Forecast Modeling Center, which can better inform planning for future floods.
Timmons Roberts, the Director of the Center, was very pleased with his students’ work. “One of the goals of this project was to get the students out into the Rhode Island community and learn about the state. We certainly achieved that.”
The report covers six topics:
- The Upstream Environment: History of development and watershed change in the Pawtuxet
- Zoning for Disasters? Zoning, Land-use Regulation, and Insurance in the Pawtuxet River Floodplain
- Emergency Management in RI: What does the Flood Tell Us About Our Preparedness?
- The March 2010 Floods: Who Suffered the Worst?
- The March 2010 Floods: Who Were the Winners?
- One Year Later: What Have We Learned?
The full report is available to the public on the Center for Environmental Studies website at http://envstudies.brown.edu.