Ulster County Executive Mike Hein

One year ago today, Tropical Storm Irene moved into the northeast leaving flooding and destruction on a scale rarely seen in the region.

Homes and farmland were washed away, bridges and roads were destroyed, and trees and power lines were leveled leaving hundreds of thousands of people without service for days , and even weeks .

Just a few weeks later, Tropical Storm Lee moved through compounding the damage, and slowing the recovery. Ulster County New York was hit hard by the weather. Ulster County Executive Mike Hein has high praise for the first responders, and state officials. He spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.