Steven P. BarrettWhen the money's not there: Epsom, NH's struggle to rebound after twister
August 12th 2008 03:49
By Steven Barrett
It's been one hell of a harsh summer in New England regarding severe thunderstorms. Usually we don't get a lot, but not this summer. For the past month it seemed as if this pattern of severe storms would, or WILL, never end. Of course it will, but we don't know when and how much more damage will they leave behind.
A little town called Epsom, NH was almost wiped off the map July 24th when a twister hit the place at night of all times. We're not used to seeing twisters. This isn't tornado country. But we're even less used to them touching down at night and taking with them so many homes and yes, lives.
But they can also devastate a small town's finances, especially if the town is in a state that relies on nothing more than property taxes. A story appearing in the Boston Globe will fill you in far better than I ever could.
Really Long Link
Epsom, NH July '08
It's been one hell of a harsh summer in New England regarding severe thunderstorms. Usually we don't get a lot, but not this summer. For the past month it seemed as if this pattern of severe storms would, or WILL, never end. Of course it will, but we don't know when and how much more damage will they leave behind.
A little town called Epsom, NH was almost wiped off the map July 24th when a twister hit the place at night of all times. We're not used to seeing twisters. This isn't tornado country. But we're even less used to them touching down at night and taking with them so many homes and yes, lives.
But they can also devastate a small town's finances, especially if the town is in a state that relies on nothing more than property taxes. A story appearing in the Boston Globe will fill you in far better than I ever could.
Really Long Link
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by TimmyH
Tech News
Can you HACK it?
Genyration
Same goes for Orleans...or am I being naieve thinking that a well drilled and equipped army would be able to rebuild a city or a region? I mean they're doing it (arguable) in Iraq...presumably there wouldn't be people shooting at them in New England lol.
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
In a less than affluent area, multiple natural disasters take a serious toll. Rebuilding isn't as easy as it could be. It takes time and money.
About our work in Iraq, there are lots of private contractors involved, too, not just our military. And the Iraqi government is paying for a lot of it with their oil profits. Small New England towns don't have oil profits. They pay out the wazoo at the pumps just like the rest of us.
Comment by Steven Barrett's OpEd Blog
Timmy, You are a world class gentleman, a man of generous spirits and a great humanitarian. Good heavens, what if you turn miserly?
There are lots and lots of little villages and towns like Epsom scattered throughout much of southern and central New England. When I went to find an image for the post I was surprised to see just how small it was, and most of the buildings that were wrecked aren't easily reached for quick repair.
New Orleans is used to hurricanes (which spawn a lot of small tornadoes), rural New England isn't. Nor is it used to torrential downpours that wipe out its roads like so many western states have to put up with. Nor, thank God have we ever seen anything like the recent hellish fires outside of Yosemite NP in California. The closest thing we've seen like that here is a huge fire that (ironically enough) burned much of the forest outside of our largest NP up at Bar Harbor ME.
We do get hurricanes but we also have considerable barrier rocks, etc. to help reduce the damage. Tornadoes in the night? Nobody's prepared for THAT.