In the early morning hours of August 28, 2011 , thousands of cubic yards of earth cut loose from its anchors on the slopes above the Cold
River Savoy ,
Massachusetts . The saturated ground, which had already seen
four inches of rain in the previous two weeks, gave way as tropical storm Irene
dumped another six inches in less than eighteen hours. The resulting avalanche of dirt, trees and
rocks cut three distinct slides down the mountainside, across the road, and into
the raging flood waters below.
