Wellness Check- Serious Flooding in New England

[abe]

Have not heard from some of our members in eastern New England for a few days. Hundreds of roads washed out, 1000's evacuated, City water supplies(edit) did not get shutdown as previously reported, but on standby(Lowell), phone systems down, raw sewage dumped in major river(Haverhill), docks and boats breaking loose and said to be worst flooding since 1936. Over 12 inches of rain fell northeastern Mass, southeastern New Hampshire and sections of southern Maine. Heard about a lake draining after a dam break.

Our daughter has been unable to find a passable road to her job which is on a major highway; I did make it to Newburyport yesterday for an appointment and watched a few boat docks pass under the Amesbury Chain bridge. Edited to add that river next to son's home has dropped two feet, good news.

Although we have had a few major floods in New England the past few years, none have had this much impact on major metropolitan areas.

Is everyone in the area surviving ?

abe

[Don Z.]

All that I can say is that I'm really glad I live on a boat, as it is saving me the trouble of tracking down gopher wood and building and ark...

[Bill R]

I'm just sitting on my roof waiting for my FEMA debit card...:D

[JimConlin]

West of Boston, i figure we've gotten 4-5" of rain. The Charles is busy, but not hreatening any damage. More Here:
http://newweb.erh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=box&gage=dovm3&type=0&view=1,1,1,1,1,1

Sounds like the rain is heaviest in your area and the Merrimack valley.

Be well,
Jim

[StevenBauer]

I certainly don't remember a spell of rain like this. And the worst of it was/is south of us.
Ken should be OK, he does live on a mountain. :)

Lowes had all their pumps displayed up front. They were selling like hotcakes. :(

Steven

[Delboy]

I'm just south of Jim in Needham, we've been lucky the worst flooding is northern Mass and southern NH and Maine.

I'll be heading over to the Needham reservoir later today to see if any of the Minuteman Model yacht club are out. I'll get a better idea then of how much we were actually effected.

Just one example of the flooding, Spicket Falls Dam in Methuen

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i246/derek_delboy/spicketfallsdam.jpg

[essaunders]

High and dry in Merrimack NH. My house is at the top of a hill, but I was tempted to float my canoe in the flooded (due to poor culvert-clearing by neighbors) ditch just for kicks.

I was wondering if Ken was floating yet.. but he is up in the hills.

[abe]

From The Eagle Tribune Newspapers


'Domino effect' smashes marinas, boats


(single page view)
(view as multiple pages)By Nick Pinto
Staff Writer




Swollen by days of rain, the surging waters of the Merrimack swept up whole trees, shipping containers, small outbuildings and boats yesterday, destroying a number of marinas in the process.

Today was supposed to be the first day of the boating season at Ferry Landing Marine in Newburyport. But instead of helping customers' boats into the river, General Manager Chuck Morse spent a frantic day trying to get boats out onto dry land after rising water and debris destroyed most of its docks.

"We had about 24 boats in the water," Morse said between recovery operations. "Today is all about getting them out of the way of the tree trunks in the river. Then we can start to think about the damage to the docks."

Upriver in Amesbury, the river carried off huge sections of dock from Mackenzie's Landing Marina and hurled them about a quarter mile downstream into the Marina at Hatter's Point, smashing some docks and sending more debris down the river.

"It's like dominos," said Dan Swift, a boat owner who was among a group of volunteers pushing oncoming flotsam away from the remaining docks at Hatter's Point. "We have stuff coming down from Haverhill and up there, smashing into docks here, and then the docks go downstream to smash more stuff."

Segments of Mackenzie's docks were eventually recovered about a mile downriver and sat idly in the current, tied to the shore off Newburyport's Spring Lane Pumping Station by a single length of rope more than 100 feet long. Among the twisted mass of wood and foam floats was a "No Wake" buoy they caught along the way. Two other docks had lodged against the bottom of the river before the strengthening current pulled them loose and sent them charging further downriver toward the Newburyport marinas.

Boats have been damaged and destroyed by the floodwaters as well. At Larry's Marina in Amesbury yesterday afternoon, one 20-foot boat was slowly sinking upside down in the river, while nearby a 28-foot boat was driven up onto the back of a 24-footer, damaging both boats significantly. One man watching the river in Newburyport observed a boat rush past, completely submerged but for three feet of bow.

The common mood of boaters and marina operators along the river is disbelief.

"I've never seen this amount of water in 32 years," said Butch Frangipane, owner of the Windward Yacht Yard yesterday. "In terms of volume and velocity, it's unbelievable."

With boatyard and marina managers still trying to ride out the high water, it may be too soon to predict what effect the flood of 2006 will have on the summer's boating. But with some marinas badly damaged, the dock space is likely to be at a premium.

Chuck Morse, the general manager at Ferry Landing Marine, said rebuilding will take time.

"It's all going to have to come out," he said, surveying the twisted wreckage of docks splayed into the churning river. "Then we'll have to put it all in again new. We'll be lucky if we can be open again in a month."

Already boaters displaced from Ferry Landing and Mackenzie's are looking for somewhere else to tie up. Frangipane said he received more than a dozen inquiries from people looking for slips at his yard, which remained undamaged yesterday. "I'm turning them away," Frangipane said. "We're already full. I don't know where they're going to go."

Newburyport Harbormaster Ralph Steele said most marinas in the area were already filled before the storm.

"A lot of people aren't going to have anywhere to put their boats," Steele said. "Depending on how fast repairs go, some people may not get on the water this summer."

For those who do get their boats in the water after the storm, the river could still remain treacherous. Officials at the Newburyport Coast Guard Station say the strength of the current is likely to have displaced marker buoys used for navigating the river.

[Ken Hutchins]

I missed all the fun.:D I was AWOL from this area and the forum for the almost a week. Got home to a minor bit of water on the basement floor nothing serious.
Now where was I? Another thread will appear ;) once the photos find their way onto the pooter.

[Concordia...41]

Hummmm???? Ken - enquiring minds and all that????

Glad to hear some of our folks are making out ok.

- M

[essaunders]

Today it is sunny... for the first time in a week and a half.

[Mrleft8]

I.ve started sprouting fins and scales..... My gills aren't fully developed yet, but they're getting there....

[sawcutmill]

BTW, on a side note, CNN weather man reported last night that May 1954 was also one of the wettest ever, he correlated a "High Risk" Probability of of a direct strike from a major hurricane based on historical data for Southern NE, RI, CT, an Mass.We are due for it, and to be sure, we will experience something.Stephen
PS he also had a graphic that showed the Carolinas, as having a high risk too!

[abe]

Massachusetts Governer Mitt Romney told Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America fame that the Massachusetts National Guard stood at the ready to assist those in need during this time of flooding.

Quote: “We’re continuing to be very, very careful and going through our neighborhoods, securing them, and making sure there is no looting of any kind,” Romney said.

I am happy to report that we have not yet had any looting. Remember this when Mitt runs for the GOP nomination to higher office. A genuine law and order candidate.