Want an ARK? Please check in if you can my friends! Flooding, sinkholes, and RAIN!
Kat is concerned!
Kat is concerned!
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Rain, Swelling Rivers Threaten New England
Updated 11:16 AM ET May 15, 2006
A four-day deluge has turned streets into rivers across New England, flooding homes up to their door knobs, forcing dozens of schools to close because the buses couldn't get through, and threatening dams and communities as rivers rise.
The rain was still falling Monday morning, and forecasters warned the worst was yet to come. The rain totals could hit 15 inches by afternoon, triggering the worst flooding in some areas since 1936, the National Weather Service said.
The Merrimack River, which chased more than 100 people from homes in Manchester, N.H., was more than eight feet over flood stage early Monday and rising, and the Charles and other large rivers could swamp entire neighborhoods if they spill their banks.
Just north of Massachusetts, fast-rising floodwater forced scores of families to flee homes near the Mousam River in Maine.
Yetta and Steven Chin and their three children awoke early Sunday when firefighters rang their doorbell in Kennebunk, Maine, with a warning. Less than an hour later, the firefighters returned, telling the family they should evacuate immediately: The water in their one-story ranch-style house was chest high by the time they got out.
"We were just an average American family thinking about maybe a summer vacation this year and now we're homeless," Yetta Chin said from the fire station where her family took refuge. "We take turns crying, and we take turns trying to bolster each other."
Maine's governor declared a state of emergency in his southern most county, York County, and the governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire also declared states of emergency Sunday, freeing up aid and the help of the National Guard.
In York Beach, Maine, kayakers paddled down a main street where yellow police tape blocked off part of the downtown, and firefighters in a boat were going from building to building, making sure that propane tanks were shut off. By late Sunday night, more than 10 inches of rain had fallen in York.
In New Hampshire, more than 600 roads were damaged, destroyed or under water, officials said.
"My back yard is an ocean," said Tom Johnson, of Salem, N.H. "It looks like the beach."
The flooding was so widespread in the suburbs north of Boston that at least three dozen school systems cancelled classes Monday. Even a stretch of heavily traveled U.S. 1 was shut down as commuters faced a web of detours.
Charley Ranen, one of about 300 people evacuated from a senior citizens' apartment complex in downtown Peabody took shelter at a high school.
"That's going to be tough on a lot of people," said Ranen, unsure how long some of his sickly neighbors could sleep on cots. "It's just a mess, I don't know what else to say. There were waves of water."
In Milton, N.H., all eyes were on a concrete dam on a pond that connects to the Salmon Falls River, which runs along the New Hampshire-Maine border. By Monday morning, officials said it was stable but being monitored. New England has had trouble in recent years with older dams failing under stress and has worked to shore up some of the worst.
Deb Gaudette and her family were among about 50 families that had to evacuate from Goffstown, N.H. She admitted she was having a tough Mother's Day, "but I have my kids, that's all I need," she said.
Associated Press writers Jerry Harkavy in Kennebunk, Maine, and David Tirrell-Wysocki in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
On the Net:
Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com
Rain, Swelling Rivers Threaten New England
Updated 11:16 AM ET May 15, 2006
A four-day deluge has turned streets into rivers across New England, flooding homes up to their door knobs, forcing dozens of schools to close because the buses couldn't get through, and threatening dams and communities as rivers rise.
The rain was still falling Monday morning, and forecasters warned the worst was yet to come. The rain totals could hit 15 inches by afternoon, triggering the worst flooding in some areas since 1936, the National Weather Service said.
The Merrimack River, which chased more than 100 people from homes in Manchester, N.H., was more than eight feet over flood stage early Monday and rising, and the Charles and other large rivers could swamp entire neighborhoods if they spill their banks.
Just north of Massachusetts, fast-rising floodwater forced scores of families to flee homes near the Mousam River in Maine.
Yetta and Steven Chin and their three children awoke early Sunday when firefighters rang their doorbell in Kennebunk, Maine, with a warning. Less than an hour later, the firefighters returned, telling the family they should evacuate immediately: The water in their one-story ranch-style house was chest high by the time they got out.
"We were just an average American family thinking about maybe a summer vacation this year and now we're homeless," Yetta Chin said from the fire station where her family took refuge. "We take turns crying, and we take turns trying to bolster each other."
Maine's governor declared a state of emergency in his southern most county, York County, and the governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire also declared states of emergency Sunday, freeing up aid and the help of the National Guard.
In York Beach, Maine, kayakers paddled down a main street where yellow police tape blocked off part of the downtown, and firefighters in a boat were going from building to building, making sure that propane tanks were shut off. By late Sunday night, more than 10 inches of rain had fallen in York.
In New Hampshire, more than 600 roads were damaged, destroyed or under water, officials said.
"My back yard is an ocean," said Tom Johnson, of Salem, N.H. "It looks like the beach."
The flooding was so widespread in the suburbs north of Boston that at least three dozen school systems cancelled classes Monday. Even a stretch of heavily traveled U.S. 1 was shut down as commuters faced a web of detours.
Charley Ranen, one of about 300 people evacuated from a senior citizens' apartment complex in downtown Peabody took shelter at a high school.
"That's going to be tough on a lot of people," said Ranen, unsure how long some of his sickly neighbors could sleep on cots. "It's just a mess, I don't know what else to say. There were waves of water."
In Milton, N.H., all eyes were on a concrete dam on a pond that connects to the Salmon Falls River, which runs along the New Hampshire-Maine border. By Monday morning, officials said it was stable but being monitored. New England has had trouble in recent years with older dams failing under stress and has worked to shore up some of the worst.
Deb Gaudette and her family were among about 50 families that had to evacuate from Goffstown, N.H. She admitted she was having a tough Mother's Day, "but I have my kids, that's all I need," she said.
Associated Press writers Jerry Harkavy in Kennebunk, Maine, and David Tirrell-Wysocki in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
On the Net:
Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com
Bucky Badger
Go Kyle Go
We have same in the upper midwest....2 weeks of this crappy rain. Not as bad as them...but bad enough if you are in construction
M
Mopardh9
Guest
Not bad here in Western Ma. kat, but in the North Shore area it is a mess. Lawerence dowtown and Peobody are under about 4 feet of water as we speak. They are supposed to get an additional 3" of rain tonight, which will probably put the Merrimack River close to 15 feet above flood stage!
S
Snagglepulse
Guest
I was just over in Lowell, MA today and some of the streets were closed due to the flooding. Some people were over at the flooded streets taking pictures of the mess and everything. They cancelled school for today and tomorrow, only I had a paper I wanted to turn in today. 
Neat avatar Snaggle!
I have an old HS buddy who lived in Franklin, NH and a good portion of a main road has fallen victim to the rushing water and has caved in.
I also heard on our local news that a dam in Methuen has collapsed!
I have Aunts, cousins and friends all over New England!
Flooded New England Hit With More Rain
Updated 11:34 PM ET May 15, 2006
Emergency crews used boats to rescue people trapped in their homes and sewage systems overflowed Monday as rain pounded New England for the fourth straight day in what could prove to be the region's worst flooding in decades.
The rain totals could hit 15 inches by Monday afternoon, triggering the worst flooding in some areas since 1936, the National Weather Service said.
In the Merrimack Valley, north of Boston on the New Hampshire line, the Merrimack and Spicket rivers overflowed their banks and forced the evacuations of hundreds of people.
Firefighters warned roommates Erica Digaetano, 22, and Kelly Malynn, 23, to leave their first-floor apartment in downtown Haverhill. Water had filled the basement up to the ceiling and was still rising.
"My landlord has an office under here and everything is just floating in it," Digaetano said.
Tens of millions of gallons of sewage spilled the Merrimack River after pipes burst in Haverhill on Sunday, and millions more poured from a treatment plant in Lawrence after floodwaters knocked it out of service Monday.
"It's going to get worse before it gets better," Gov. Mitt Romney said.
Emergency crews took to flooded streets in boats and used bullhorns to urge people to leave their homes in Lowell. Forecasters said the river could rise past 60 feet by Monday night, putting it at more than 8 feet over flood stage.
In Wakefield, Mass., about 15 miles north of Boston, Ralph Tucci watched nervously as shallow water in the front yard lapped near his front door.
"That's what I have left just six more inches," said Tucci, 50, who spent $247 on a pump Monday to try to protect his home. "The only thing I've got to do now is buy a boat," he joked.
In New Hampshire, more than 600 roads were damaged, destroyed or under water. Gov. John Lynch said his own front yard in Hopkinton had become a pond. In Concord, flooding closed St. Paul's School and the prep school was working to get its students back home on short notice.
Flooding knocked out the school's heating plant and sewage pumping station and hit some dorms, the library, the health center, post office and performing arts center at St. Paul's, which has students from around the world.
Dan Burke, who owns a backhoe, helped people in Rochester, N.H., get prescriptions and retrieve belongings from their homes after the city ordered the evacuation of nearly 2,000 homes downstream from a dam that appeared to be in danger.
"We're just trying to help people get out, trying to get them at least on their way, so they don't have to lose everything," Burke said.
In southern Maine, fast-rising floodwaters forced scores of families to flee homes near the Mousam River. Kayakers paddled down a main street in York Beach, where firefighters in a boat went building to building to make sure that propane tanks were shut off.
Former President George Bush and his wife arrived at their summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, over the weekend, but the house was unaffected, said Jean Becker, Bush's chief of staff.
Harder rains were predicted for late Monday, threatening to push the Merrimack, Spicket and other large rivers further over their banks and swamping entire neighborhoods.
Associated Press Writers David Sharp in Ogunquit, Maine, Beverley Wang in Nashua, N.H., and David Tirrell-Wysocki in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
I have an old HS buddy who lived in Franklin, NH and a good portion of a main road has fallen victim to the rushing water and has caved in.
I also heard on our local news that a dam in Methuen has collapsed!
I have Aunts, cousins and friends all over New England!
Flooded New England Hit With More Rain
Updated 11:34 PM ET May 15, 2006
Emergency crews used boats to rescue people trapped in their homes and sewage systems overflowed Monday as rain pounded New England for the fourth straight day in what could prove to be the region's worst flooding in decades.
The rain totals could hit 15 inches by Monday afternoon, triggering the worst flooding in some areas since 1936, the National Weather Service said.
In the Merrimack Valley, north of Boston on the New Hampshire line, the Merrimack and Spicket rivers overflowed their banks and forced the evacuations of hundreds of people.
Firefighters warned roommates Erica Digaetano, 22, and Kelly Malynn, 23, to leave their first-floor apartment in downtown Haverhill. Water had filled the basement up to the ceiling and was still rising.
"My landlord has an office under here and everything is just floating in it," Digaetano said.
Tens of millions of gallons of sewage spilled the Merrimack River after pipes burst in Haverhill on Sunday, and millions more poured from a treatment plant in Lawrence after floodwaters knocked it out of service Monday.
"It's going to get worse before it gets better," Gov. Mitt Romney said.
Emergency crews took to flooded streets in boats and used bullhorns to urge people to leave their homes in Lowell. Forecasters said the river could rise past 60 feet by Monday night, putting it at more than 8 feet over flood stage.
In Wakefield, Mass., about 15 miles north of Boston, Ralph Tucci watched nervously as shallow water in the front yard lapped near his front door.
"That's what I have left just six more inches," said Tucci, 50, who spent $247 on a pump Monday to try to protect his home. "The only thing I've got to do now is buy a boat," he joked.
In New Hampshire, more than 600 roads were damaged, destroyed or under water. Gov. John Lynch said his own front yard in Hopkinton had become a pond. In Concord, flooding closed St. Paul's School and the prep school was working to get its students back home on short notice.
Flooding knocked out the school's heating plant and sewage pumping station and hit some dorms, the library, the health center, post office and performing arts center at St. Paul's, which has students from around the world.
Dan Burke, who owns a backhoe, helped people in Rochester, N.H., get prescriptions and retrieve belongings from their homes after the city ordered the evacuation of nearly 2,000 homes downstream from a dam that appeared to be in danger.
"We're just trying to help people get out, trying to get them at least on their way, so they don't have to lose everything," Burke said.
In southern Maine, fast-rising floodwaters forced scores of families to flee homes near the Mousam River. Kayakers paddled down a main street in York Beach, where firefighters in a boat went building to building to make sure that propane tanks were shut off.
Former President George Bush and his wife arrived at their summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, over the weekend, but the house was unaffected, said Jean Becker, Bush's chief of staff.
Harder rains were predicted for late Monday, threatening to push the Merrimack, Spicket and other large rivers further over their banks and swamping entire neighborhoods.
Associated Press Writers David Sharp in Ogunquit, Maine, Beverley Wang in Nashua, N.H., and David Tirrell-Wysocki in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
Professur
Team Owner
Get your $2000 debit cards now.
I've got a good friend in Swansea, MA, that I haven't heard from. I hope she is OK.
I hope she is OK.
M
Mopardh9
Guest
Raining very hard here in the Palmer area right now, doesn't look too good on the North Shore either. No serious flooding yet anyway in Western Ma., but that area around Methuen, Lawrence, Peobody, and Wakefield is a major disaster.
S
Snagglepulse
Guest
Thanks, Kat.kat2220 said:
Things have eased down here in Waltham and Lexington. There's even sunshine now. Hope things are alright for those in the North Shore area. I wonder if my friend in Peabody's okay.
TRL, Swansea is just over the line from northern RI, near Woonsocket and seems wet but OK for now.
Most of the flooding seems to be in Northeastern MA, NH and Southern ME.
Most of the flooding seems to be in Northeastern MA, NH and Southern ME.
AND NOW>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In two weeks, the 2006 hurricane season will officially begin -- and it may well be different from recent years.
The good news, experts say, is that due to a cyclical pattern, the hard-hit Gulf Coast most likely will escape the devastation it experienced last season.
"We're projecting two-thirds of activity of last year, not as much as last year," said Dr. Bill Gray, a hurricane expert at Colorado State University.
The bad news is that the concentration of hurricane activity is predicted to move up the eastern seaboard this season.
"We think that the mid to latter part of the season, the heart of the hurricane season, is going to be an especially busy one along eastern seaboard," said Joe Bastardi, a hurricane forecaster at Accuweather.
"We see conditions off the eastern seaboard -- above normal water temperatures -- that indicate that this might be where hurricanes will be headed," added another Accuweather hurricane forecaster, Bernie Rayno.
One of the worst-case scenarios is a hurricane hitting the Northeast.
"Particularly New York City, if one of these category 3 storms came in with a large storm surge, that'd cause tremendous flooding in New York," Gray said. "Subways flooded away. Underground electronics [saturated]. That would be a major disaster for the Northeast."
The North Carolina coast, southern New England, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware are projected hot zones of hurricane activity for this coming season.
"It could bring a large storm surge, massive damage to New England even if it's category 3 like the famous storm of 1938," said Gray.
Back then, amid a similar weather pattern, a "50 to 100 foot wall of water came across the Hamptons, devastated everything," Bastardi said. "Providence was under water. [There was] tremendous flooding in Connecticut River valley."
Coming Off a Record Year
The Gulf of Mexico was hit earliest and hardest this past hurricane season, but this year it may well escape a major blow. It is possible that New Orleans, still reeling from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, could be hit again, but experts predict that would be rather unlikely.
A record-breaking number of tropical storms and major hurricanes hit the Atlantic Coast last season, the strongest of which -- Katrina, Dennis, Wilma and Rita -- slammed the western Gulf Coast. They were the some the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in history.
Experts say 17 storms and nine hurricanes -- including five major hurricanes -- could inflict damage this season. That's fewer than the 28 named storms, 13 hurricanes and seven major hurricanes last year.
In two weeks, the 2006 hurricane season will officially begin -- and it may well be different from recent years.
The good news, experts say, is that due to a cyclical pattern, the hard-hit Gulf Coast most likely will escape the devastation it experienced last season.
"We're projecting two-thirds of activity of last year, not as much as last year," said Dr. Bill Gray, a hurricane expert at Colorado State University.
The bad news is that the concentration of hurricane activity is predicted to move up the eastern seaboard this season.
"We think that the mid to latter part of the season, the heart of the hurricane season, is going to be an especially busy one along eastern seaboard," said Joe Bastardi, a hurricane forecaster at Accuweather.
"We see conditions off the eastern seaboard -- above normal water temperatures -- that indicate that this might be where hurricanes will be headed," added another Accuweather hurricane forecaster, Bernie Rayno.
One of the worst-case scenarios is a hurricane hitting the Northeast.
"Particularly New York City, if one of these category 3 storms came in with a large storm surge, that'd cause tremendous flooding in New York," Gray said. "Subways flooded away. Underground electronics [saturated]. That would be a major disaster for the Northeast."
The North Carolina coast, southern New England, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware are projected hot zones of hurricane activity for this coming season.
"It could bring a large storm surge, massive damage to New England even if it's category 3 like the famous storm of 1938," said Gray.
Back then, amid a similar weather pattern, a "50 to 100 foot wall of water came across the Hamptons, devastated everything," Bastardi said. "Providence was under water. [There was] tremendous flooding in Connecticut River valley."
Coming Off a Record Year
The Gulf of Mexico was hit earliest and hardest this past hurricane season, but this year it may well escape a major blow. It is possible that New Orleans, still reeling from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, could be hit again, but experts predict that would be rather unlikely.
A record-breaking number of tropical storms and major hurricanes hit the Atlantic Coast last season, the strongest of which -- Katrina, Dennis, Wilma and Rita -- slammed the western Gulf Coast. They were the some the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in history.
Experts say 17 storms and nine hurricanes -- including five major hurricanes -- could inflict damage this season. That's fewer than the 28 named storms, 13 hurricanes and seven major hurricanes last year.
M
Mopardh9
Guest
Just what i wanted to hear, i should of stayed in Colorado
S
Snagglepulse
Guest
Connecticut counts as southern New England.
Reported today:
For flooded, a fearful cost
Romney urges Bush to send disaster aid
By Brian MacQuarrie and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff | May 18, 2006
As thousands of residents returned to flood-ravaged homes, many began to grapple with another big problem: Nearly all of them lack flood insurance.
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Boston.com
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Governor Mitt Romney officially asked President Bush yesterday to declare Massachusetts a disaster area and send financial help immediately. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency can offer short-term rental subsidies and help pay for minor repairs within days, more substantial help, in the form of low-interest loans for extensive repairs or replacement of property, is expected to take longer from a government already strained from last year's hurricanes.
See the following for the complete story: http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2006/05/18/for_flooded_a_fearful_cost/?page=full
For flooded, a fearful cost
Romney urges Bush to send disaster aid
By Brian MacQuarrie and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff | May 18, 2006
As thousands of residents returned to flood-ravaged homes, many began to grapple with another big problem: Nearly all of them lack flood insurance.
Article Tools
Printer friendly
Single page
E-mail to a friend
Weather RSS feed
Available RSS feeds
Most e-mailed
Reprints & Licensing
More:
Globe front page |
Boston.com
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Governor Mitt Romney officially asked President Bush yesterday to declare Massachusetts a disaster area and send financial help immediately. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency can offer short-term rental subsidies and help pay for minor repairs within days, more substantial help, in the form of low-interest loans for extensive repairs or replacement of property, is expected to take longer from a government already strained from last year's hurricanes.
See the following for the complete story: http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2006/05/18/for_flooded_a_fearful_cost/?page=full