Volunteers were still pumping water out of basements from the July floods when another round of flooding hit this week. Vermonters on the front lines say the frequency of these events point to the need for more durable solutions.

On this episode of Brave Little State, a question from Sophi Veltrop, of Woodbury:

"How are towns hit by 2023 flooding doing? What locally-driven solutions are helping those most harmed and setting the stage to rebuild better?"

Reporter Pete Hirschfeld talks to some of those who were hit hardest over the summer, from a family whose home is still uninhabitable to a woman on dialysis who lives alone. He also explores how local recovery responses are filling the gaps where state and federal relief have fallen short — as Vermont barrels toward a future filled with more severe, and more frequent, flooding events.

Find the web version of this episode here.

Pete Hirschfeld reported this episode. It was produced and edited by the Brave Little State team: Sabine Poux, Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Angela Evancie is our executive producer. Ty Gibbons composed our theme music; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Lexi Krupp, Tom Drake, Sarah Henshaw, Rev. Dr. Wendy Jaine Summers and Meghan Weyland.

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.