USA: After the rain - Irene’s lessons to the East Coast

One year after hurricane Irene swept away the Eastern Seaboard, killing dozens of people, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin asked the question, "What did we learn from Irene that we would do again and would put us in a better position with future storms in a climate-change future?" As Irene became the costliest Category 1 U.S. hurricane on record since at least 1980, with estimated total damage of $15.8 billion, utilities under scrutiny changed some of their practices. While in New York City, Irene gave officials a trial run for their hurricane plan, Shumlin still sees room for improvement, mentioning installation of larger road culverts and redesigning basements to let floodwater flow through.