Recent floods heighten concerns that New England dams may not be built for climate-induced storms

By MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Flooding in Massachusetts that put several dams at risk have raised concern the structures may increasingly be at risk as New England is hit by stronger and wetter storms. There are thousands of dams across the region, including many that are decades or centuries old and were designed when the climate was much different. Experts say state policymakers need to put climate change at the forefront of discussions around dam safety. They also say officials need to be more transparent about the state of the dams at highest risk and be more aggressive about removing those that could fail in a bad storm.