Providence Journal: Years after devastating flood, some Cranston homeowners still wait for government buyout

By Sophie Kasakove / Special to The Journal

Posted Dec 6, 2017 at 11:15 PM Updated Dec 6, 2017 at 11:19 PM

CRANSTON, R.I. — On Perkins Avenue, a long row of suburban homes comes to a sudden end — instead, trees and shrubs grow freely and wild turkeys shuffle through tall grass. It's hard to believe that it's been only seven years since the 10 homes that used to occupy these plots were demolished.

The neighborhood is located a short distance from the Pawtuxet River. In 2010, the homes on Perkins Avenue, like many across the city and the state, were devastated by the most severe flooding to hit the region in recent memory. Instead of rebuilding these homes, prone to flooding from the Pawtuxet, some Cranston residents opted to seek higher ground.

“I had water coming in the first-floor windows over the counter and the stove, and the basement was totally filled up with seven or eight feet of water,” recalled Brian Dupont, a lifelong Cranston resident until 2010, in a phone interview. For decades, his two houses on Perkins Avenue had flooded regularly, and he'd spent years trying to pressure city and state officials to steer funding for flood response toward buying flood-prone homes from homeowners who wanted to move to less risky areas. Finally, in 2010, people started listening.

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