I hope everyone in NE New England is OK!!!

Check in with us and keep us updated. I'm OK in Western CT., but the river down in back of my house is very high, and my brook is raging!! No danger of flooding except for low levels in the roads. My main concern is the soggy soil under the trees in the woods on the other side of my brook. They are very waterlogged. Hope you all stay dry and safe!! Love DC

MA and NH residents, when you get a chance, we'd love to hear from you! Stay safe and dry! :grouphug:

Second floor condo at a safe distance from the river. But I know Tay and Whome have been battling the water today. See the "Yikes!" thread for more on that.

:yourock: :hi:

Boston University students and guests hold umbrellas against heavy rain during their commencement at Nickerson Field, in Boston, Sunday, May 14, 2006. 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)
2:46 p.m. ET, 5/14/06

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12786790/





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. Kayakers paddled down the streets of York Beach, Maine, where much of downtown was blocked off with police tape and firefighters in a boat shut off propane tanks.

http://www.cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/05/14/new.england.flooding.ap/index.html



Please stay safe Whome, TayTay and others!

Are you guys OK up there?

Check in, please.

I was right there yesterday, in that store. OMFG. This is a old York Beach in Maine in an area that is still 'down-scale' for a tourist place. (Ahm, my parents used to be able to afford to take 6+ kids or more to York Beach in the summer and get us food and ice cream and stuff at the beach. This was NOT an upscale 'Shore' experience, but a very middle-class place.)

The area is yards from Short Sands Beach and near Neddick Point. (Where the lighthouse is.) The waves there yesterday (Sat) morning were amazing. I was there way, way before it flooded out, of course. (It is dangerous and stupid to go near any flooded region. When I went, it was definitely wet but not yet flooded.)

Here's to The Little Bull store. (www.littlebull.com) I hope Ed and Michelle are okay. You guys are in my prayers tonight.

CNN/AP: Floods force hundreds from New England homes Updated at 7:03 PM

Floods force hundreds from New England homes
Sunday, May 14, 2006


A pedestrian walks along flooded streets Sunday in Peabody, Massachusetts.

CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) -- 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."

A dam in Milton, New Hampshire, 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....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/05/14/new.england.flood...

Please stay safe and dry. Please check in whenever possible and let us know you're okay. You guys are like family - we need to know that you're okay!

This is a historic flood the likes of which I haven't seen in my lifetime. The city of Saugus is 60% underwater. Surrounding towns, like Peabody (Pee-buh-dee, btw) are flooded out and there are evacuations going on. (Nasty, nasty stuff. The worst parts of floods are when the waters recede and you have to clean up the sewage overflows. Gross and oh yuck.)

No school tomorrow in my town. The elementary school has a flooded basement. The Middle School may also have sustained water damage. The roads are perilous to go on because of the flooding and the downed tree branches and debris and mud everywhere. (I am staying put for tomorrow. It's not worth it.)

The Mighty Merrimack River, which is about 1 mile from my house, btw, won't crest until sometime tomorrow. It will probably crest at 8 feet above flood stage or more. My region has had about 8-10 inches of rain already and 1-3 more inches are due tonight. Sigh! I have a very wet basement, but we can slowly deal with it. (Everything in the basement is on tables or shelves.)

Ahm, this emergency won't be over until Friday. It won't really stop raining until Wednesday anyway. Wow, that is a huge amount of rain. This is the flood of my lifetime around here. (I am 40-50 miles inland. It's unusual to have so much rain this far inland. Very unusual.)

Can you imagine if this was winter and the precip was in the form of snow? OMFG, this would be 144 inches of snow or so. Wow! (Ahm, the mark of a true New Englander, everything becomes, imagine if this was snow. LOL! Silly people.) This storm is like a classic Northeaster in that it is sitting on the Atlantic, sucking up moisture and then spinning retrograde over the area. Most storms move across this area from west to east. This one is moving from southeast to northwest. And it's been stuck here just dumping rain on us. Sigh!

That photo really caught me off guard. I had no idea it was that bad.

So that's something. Baby books, year books, momentos, get it all in one rubbermaid tub. Forget the pictures, you'd be amazed how many people you sent copies to. The one of a kind stuff is what you'll miss. Hang in there!! :hug:

We had one of those here a couple years ago. I wasn't sure if the carpet in my basement would ever dry out. And my house is on a hillside, lol. I think it rained for a week and a half straight.

Good luck and I hope it passes soon.

I saw some photos of Peabody early and said I could not ever remember something like this.

Yikes - I was worried about the Merrimack river and called one of my girlfriends who has a house right on the river at Rocks Village, she's across the street on the River Rd, not sure how many feet she is from the river but it ain't far at all. She said her sump pumps are running hard and they hoping the power does not go out. Her house was built in the 1700's.

I hope it stops soon and everyone stays safe and dry!

Back then, the water flooded the whole first floor of their house, nearly to the ceiling. My Mom still lives on that same street, but she says it's not flooded there, probably because of how high they built up the river banks in that area over the last few decades. For those who know Lowell, MA, she's in the West Centralville section of town, just a few blocks from the Aiken Street Bridge, which spans the Merrimack River.

We're actually doing fine here. The rain slowed down just as my husband was about to sandbag the driveway, and even though it has never stopped raining, it's been coming down at a manageable clip since this morning.

Of course, there could still be more, but the storm's moved far enough north and east that I don't think it will be too bad.

But on the evening news they listed current amounts - on the north shore there are places with a FOOT of rain. Holy crap. That is a LOT of water.

Hey, what is that in snowfall anyway? (Ahm, enough so that it would reach to my roof. Wow!)

Glad to hear you are okay and the city is faring well. I am okay too, just a bit wet. But some folks are in tough, tough shape.

I just checked in to see all this mess. I hope everything is OK with all of you.

:scared:

Our backyard had about 2 inches of standing water all day, but I just checked, and it drained. (my new plants are looking pretty soggy right now). The basement is ok at the moment. The sump pump has been in overdrive, of course. Our street resembles a river, and the water is pushing up through the manhole covers. They're expecting us to get hit hard overnight, too, and the Merrimack River is supposed to crest tomorrow into Tuesday. We're located higher than the riverbank, so we should be alright.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we won't have sewage backup. Two more days of this crap. Ugh.
I just feel bad for my poor mom. She is going back home on Tuesday, and her last week her has been literally washed out :-(

You guys were hit really hard. (I think you were in ground zero of this flood.) I'm glad to hear that you were able to keep ahead of the waters and I hope it went well over night. I expected to wake up to a big puddle in the basement, but there is only a little bit of water. We can deal.

Your Mom was here for the great flood of '06! Ahm, hmmm, okay, that one will sound better in the telling than it was in the actuality, like most bad weather events. Sigh!

My mother is rather impressed and does have a tale to tell at home. They never get rains like that there. I have to say that it's a first for me, too. Jeez. lol

I have a cousin down in Joppa Flats and some family on Rings Island too.

We went for a drive to check out the damage. Some yards along the Merrimack were under water, the boat marina looked like a wet dock instead of a dry dock. Plum Island access is cut off. Didn't see Ring Island, but most of the houses there are located on a hill. High tide was approaching, and that was when most of the river flooding was expected, so it's going to get a bit worse before it gets better, I'm afraid.
As expected, a lot of closed roads. The little Powow River in Amesbury was a raging inferno. Downtown in the Millyard restaurants like the Powow River Grill are under water on the level facing the back, and the river's embankment gave way, so all the construction going on there for a river path is destroyed. It's a mess.

I guess I should make some calls and check on people.

I can well imagine Plum Island is a mess and the access is cut off - I was out there staying in a winter rental right on the beach one winter in the 70's during a Noreaster - the ocean came within feet of cottage. My Aunt's house on Ring's Island is up on the hill actually, I forgot about that. I was looking online for some photos of that area but hadn't seen any, mostly Peabody, Melrose, etc.

The little Powow runs strong anyway, I can imagine the mess there. Stay safe! It's heartbreaking to hear of this devastion - it's still home to me in my mind.

All of you, keep safe.

Here in Belmont, we are fine. We live in a high spot, so, even if it is raining a lot, the water is draining well. The low parts of town will be flooded if it rains much longer, though.

I drove from Springfield to Belmont yesterday and the water is high everywhere along I90. (lousy weather to drive).

Hope you guys stay safe.

for everybody in the affected areas. Soggy also here (downstate IL), raining for days now, but nothing compared to what you guys have. Keep dry!

She called me at work and said the police were going up and down the street announcing that they had until 4:00 PM to evacuate. At 4:00 they were going to shut off the water and eletricity to the area. So I told my boss what was going on, and that I had to leave for the day. Mom is elderly and is nearly blind. My brother lives with her, but he wasn't home, and he doesn't drive anyway. (Long story - I'm the functional sibling) And Mom was refusing to leave her two cats behind. So I came and picked her and the cats up, leaving a note for my brother, telling him to call me, and where the local shelters were being set up.

Dreading the prospect of 5 cats in a 4-room condo (mine, my roommate's, and my Mom's cats) I decided to find out if the animal hospital down the street would be willing to board her cats for a couple of days. Thankfully, they said yes. My roommate is staying with friends in Boston for a couple of days. So my Mom and brother will be camped out here until they are allowed to go back home.

So that's how the flooding is affecting my family right now. My part of town is not very close to the rivers, so I think we'll be fine here for the near future.

that you have your mother out safely and her kitties are being cared for. Pets are terribly important to elderly folks so I'm not surprised she wouldn't leave them.

I hope the storm clears out soon and there isn't much damage and everyone can get back to normal soon!

I hope everything starts to drain tomorrow. This has been an amazing experience. I hope your Mom's place doesn't take on any damage and is okay. (Were you out taking pictures. It has been amazing.)

One of the reasons a lot of folks didn't evacuate New Orleans is because they didn't want to leave their animals behind. I can't blame them for that! I'm glad you are nearby so that your mom and brother have a nice, safe, dry place to stay until the situation improves.

We are beginning to feel like part of Maine because everywhere you go you hear "can't get there from here."

Wet basements. Lots of mud. Flooded roads. Some evacuations. It isn't too bad in my area (near Manchester). It's not much for people who own horses. (My daughter has two.) Paddocks are beginning to resemble swimming ponds and the poor animals have had to remain in their stalls.

It could be worse: this could have happened in February. If it had, we'd still be digging out now!

about this rain: What does it mean in terms of snowfall? (LOL!) Channel 5 had enough peole call in and ask what this much rain means that they put up a graphic:

1 inch of rain - 1 foot of snow. (We got around 11 inches of rain. Oh, it means 11 feet of snow. Oh, that's a lot of rain. I can understand it now. If it was snow, I think we'd all be dead by now, or drunk, not sure which cuz I know a lot of people who head to the Packie before a good snowstorm.)

Oh, damn, that is a lot of moisture. I'm so glad it's May and not likely to be frozen stuff. (It just strikes me as funny that everyone wanted to know how much snow that would mean. It's like we don't have the translation for a sh*t load of rain and need the info in another format.)

until we shovel or plow the damn stuff. Also, it is cleaner and prettier than rain.

BTW, aren't APRIL showers supposed to bring MAY flowers? This is just wrong.