Posted on 05/14/2006 7:34:53 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CONCORD, N.H. - Torrential rain forced hundreds of people from their homes in parts of New England on Sunday, as water flowed over dams and washed out roads.
The governors of New Hampshire and Massachusetts declared states of emergency, activating the National Guard to help communities respond to the storm. Maine's governor also declared a state of emergency for one county.
"It's a very serious situation," said New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, adding that forecasters were predicting 12 to 15 inches of rain by the end of the storm in parts of southern New Hampshire. "It continues to change and the situation continues to worsen."
In some towns, police and fire crews used boats to get people out of their homes and stranded cars after hundreds of roads were damaged. Others got around in kayaks. Some towns shut down, not letting anyone pass except emergency vehicles.
"The town is cut right in half," said Glenn Laramie, police chief in Andover, N.H.
A dam in Milton, N.H., was in danger of failing, which could send a 10-foot wall of water downstream, the National Weather Service said in a bulletin. People downstream were being evacuated in the town.
The state Office of Emergency Management said at least a dozen dams were being closely watched.
In Massachusetts, cars were pulled from flooded streets in downtown Peabody, about 20 miles north of Boston, and about 300 people were evacuated from an apartment complex for seniors. Businesses stacked sandbags at their doors, trying to prevent damage from water that at one point rose to waist-deep.
"I have no heat, I have no hot water, and my cellar is flooded up to its tippy top," said Esther Gibely, who sought shelter at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School.
About 150 residents in Melrose, Mass., had to leave their homes after sewage lines were overwhelmed, backing up into houses, said Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
About 10 communities in the northeast section of the state opened temporary shelters, Romney said.
Some parts of New Hampshire had seen 7 inches of rain by midday Sunday and forecasters said up to 5 more inches might come during the day.
About 100 residents were evacuated from their homes in Wakefield, N.H., because of concerns about two dams in the area.
Officials also reported a railroad culvert and embankment washed out in Milton, with train tracks suspended in midair. And the local emergency management office in Hooksett said the town essentially was closed because so many roads were flooded.
Tom Johnson said water was flowing on Sunday into the basement of his Salem home, where a pump that handles 1,500 gallons of water an hour was not keeping up.
"My back yard is an ocean," Johnson said. "It looks like the beach."
Flooding in New Hampshire in October killed seven people, carried off homes and washed away miles of roads down to bedrock.
In Maine, flooding was reported on 60 roads in the southern part of the state, said governor's spokeswoman Crystal Canney. More than 50 homes in Sanford and several in Kennebunk also were evacuated, state officials said.
Several shelters were opened up across the affected region.
"We were just an average American family thinking about maybe a summer vacation this year and now we're homeless," said Yetta Chin, who sought shelter at a Kennebunk fire station with her husband, their three children and a dog.
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Associated Press Writers Brandie M. Jefferson in Boston, Andrew Ryan in Peabody, Mass., and Francis X. Quinn in Augusta, Maine, contributed to this report.
Flood waters rush down Walnut Street in Peabody, Mass., Sunday, May 14, 2006, after heavy rain. Gov. Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency Sunday, activating the National Guard and other state services to help local officials respond to the torrential rain that hasn't let up since Friday. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)
A flooded car is shown in a shopping center Sunday, May 14, 2006, in Hooksett, N.H. Torrential rain forced hundreds of people from their homes in parts of New England on Sunday, as water flowed over dams and washed out roads. The governors of New Hampshire and Massachusetts declared states of emergency, activating the National Guard to help communities respond to the storm. Maine's governor also declared a state of emergency for one county. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
Maryann Levesque checks for leaking gas at an area of road damaged by flood waters on Pleasant Street in Concord, N.H., Sunday, May 14, 2006. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
Boston University students march into BU's Nickerson Field in Boston, holding umbrellas in the heavy rain, Sunday, May 14, 2006, during their commencement. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts on Sunday as heavy rain soaked the region flooding basements, closing roads and threatening mud slides. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)
Senior citizens wait on a school bus to be evacuated from the Tannery II apartments for the elderly and disabled in Peabody, Mass., Sunday, May 14, 2006 after the housing unit was flooded following three days of rain which have dumped more than nine inches of rain in parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
A buoyant flood road would have saved them; but, sigh : you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...so now they are drinking flood water...
Sean Penn and Oprah are on their way.
Are you keeping your head above water out there?
Thats the guy who got the last run at the package store
Prayers for an end to the rain and safety for those in the path of flooding.
I remember that car. That belonged the the senator swimmer.
Tell me about it ... I've been pumping out my basement since 7am this morning and am not going to sleep to night because I have to keep pumping every 45 minutes or so to keep the water from covering the entire basement floor.
I'm in fear of my septic system and leach field backing up into the house. No showers, no flushing (unless it brown), and use paper plates.
I've been running the wood stove since this morning also in the basement to help dry out things.
After this ... I don't want to see rain again till after Labor day ... I don't care if my bushes and grass die ... I'm about ready for Arizona now.
When will this miserable rain end!!!!!!
Our basement where we live in south central NH has never been wet in the 27 years we've owned our house. It was dry at 3:00 PM today. I went down there at about 7:00 and there was water covering half the floor, close to an inch deep in some spots. Too shallow for a sump pump (which we of course don't have since we've never needed one). Within a few minutes we killed our little wet vac. Ended up borrowing a sump pump, putting it in a trash barrel and then scooping water from the floor with plastic containers. Quit just after midnight with most of the water down to a skimming on the floor. Start again in the AM hopefully for the final cleanup as opposed to more major bailing.
However, we have to count ourselves lucky compared to many around here.
Checking my basement a couple of times a day. So far so good...
I live in Hyde Park (subsection of Boston). Where I live is a hill, so not only has it not flooded here, but I didn't even know about the state of emergency until now.
:-) We are fine. We are in the higher elevation and also are away from the worst areas - Peabody, East Boston and parts of Worcester. We could use some windy days to help dry up the excess water, but it's really families in those areas who need help.
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