Leominster flooding: Severe rain in Massachusetts leads to evacuations

August 01, 2024

Torrential rains and thunderstorms sparked life-threatening flash floods in Massachusetts on Monday evening, prompting authorities in one city to evacuate residents and declare a state of emergency.

Mayor Dean Mazzarella in Leominster, a city about 40 miles northwest of Boston, urged people not to venture outside and to stay on higher ground as roads flooded Monday night, but some residents were evacuated as water came into their basements and as concerns raised over a dam in poor conditions.

Schools in the city were closed Tuesday, and about 100 people were taking shelter at Skyview Middle School and Frances Drake Elementary, Mazzarella said at a news conference Tuesday.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that some residents in low-lying areas needed to evacuate because of “a potential issue at the Barrett Park Pond Dam.”

The “very sensitive” dam is “water-saturated” and is about to be replaced, Mazzarella said.

Leominster, a city of about 44,000 people, was pummeled by about 10 inches of rain Monday night, according to the National Weather Service. Homes and buildings were devastated, streets were sucked down through sinkholes and hospitals were deprived of power.

The topography of the city, surrounded by hills, made the disaster even worse, Mazzarella said.

As authorities evaluated the damage Monday night, they urged people to stay indoors.

“Everything’s flooding. Simplest thing I can tell you,” Mazzarella said in a video posted to Facebook on Monday. “It’s every part of the city. It’s basements, roofs, cars, it’s everywhere. What I can tell you is there’s no reason to go out, unless it’s an emergency, stay home.”

He said all police and fire forces were called in to help and rivers were in danger of reaching above crest levels.

A flash flood emergency for the area extended from 10 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday for Leominster, Fitchburg and Lunenburg, the National Weather Service said.

The warning urged locals to “move immediately to higher ground” and avoid walking or driving through floodwaters.

“Everything is one big lake,” Mazzarella said Monday on social media.

Gov. Maura Healey (D) said on social media Tuesday morning that the flooding was “catastrophic” and that she was on her way to North Attleboro and Leominster to assess the damage.

“Our first priority is always keeping people safe, and we will get through this together,” she said.

Heavy rains and thunderstorms also caused flash flooding and affected several communities in Rhode Island. In Providence on Monday night, firefighters rescued more than two dozen people stranded on the streets trapped in their vehicles, and others stuck inside flooded businesses at a shopping plaza, WPRI reported.

By the early hours of Tuesday, the rain had largely subsided across southern New England, the National Weather Service said. But there could be thunderstorms Wednesday, which could hinder cleanup efforts and exacerbate flooded areas.

Winds and flooding from Hurricane Lee were expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and parts of Maine this weekend, forecasters said.

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