Several speakers addressed growing threats of flooding and severe storms in the Lehigh Valley at an Easton press conference on Thursday. The event follows heavy rain events early last year that caused flooding and road closures, power outages in August of 2024 during Tropical Storm Debbie, and flash flooding across the region last week.
Dr. Christa Kelleher, PhD, a professor from Lafayette College and a hydrologist, warned about the growing size of storms.
“Our conclusively warming climate is making extreme events like flooding, as well as droughts, as well as hurricanes, even worse. Over the last few decades, our biggest storms have been getting bigger, and these storms will continue to grow into the future.”
Speakers highlighted the impacts these storms can have on local communities and the need for proper infrastructure to plan for and respond to future storms. That preparation is needed on a federal level, but it’s also vital to take local action, said Rachel Hogan Carr, Executive Director at the Nature Nurture Center.
“And communities like Easton that have experienced flooding and should expect it again should be asking now, ‘What happens if we get a flood worse than we had in 2004, ‘05, and ‘06? Are we prepared for that?”
State Representative Robert Freeman agreed with that thought, noting the negative impacts that could result from cuts made in Washington D.C., like the cancellation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, 800 position removals at the National Weather Service and FEMA, and budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Pennsylvania joined a lawsuit this week against the Trump administration over its elimination of FEMA programs that could have funded dozens of flood and disaster protection projects.
