Historically, the North Country hasn’t been prone to natural disasters, yet sometimes nature prevails and these disasters reach the northern corner of New York state. The effects of natural disasters in the North Country are magnified by the occurrences associated with this region’s climate. The annual snow melt in the Adirondacks brings large amounts of runoff down the mountains where it gathers in bodies of water. An example of this is the Marcy Dam Pond where runoff is met by an antiquated wooden dam structure that exists to alleviate the stresses caused by water during the cyclic season changes. The dam serves as a flood gate between the flowing pond water and Marcy Brook. At the end of the winter when the ice broke apart flowing downstream which put extra stress on the already weak dam, breaking off additional pieces. This has a significant impact on Marcy Brook because of the increase in water flow through the dam. These damages were initially caused by Hurricane Irene and then escalated by the collisions of rushing ice chunks. When the floodwaters of Hurricane Irene severely damaged the dam, disabling a controlled flow into the brook which allowed ice to move into the brook with greater speed. Intense erosion followed which widened the walls and deepened the brook’s bed creating large gravel deposits along the brookside.