Clean-up Efforts Underway after Boston Flooding

Cleanup is underway throughout the greater Boston area after heavy rain flooded many streets and damaged homes and businesses. The storm which moved into the area on Saturday forced the closure of numerous roads, including Route 28 in Somerville where an off-duty fireman fought to rescue a woman who was caught in rapidly rising flood water in an underpass.

The fire fighter who rescued the woman said that he was coming out of a nearby party store when he looked to the right and saw a lot of water emerging from manholes. He then noticed a woman waving her arms. He put on his gear and ran down the embankment. He jumped into the cold, dirty water and swam over to her. A life ring was thrown into the water and the woman was pulled to safety. A dive team from the State Police searched four other submerged cars to see if anyone was trapped inside but luckily everyone had escaped. Thirteen of the state troopers had to go to a local hospital to become decontaminated because raw sewage was leaking into the flood water.

Although no one was severely injured, there is a lot of cleaning up to do. The Somerville police were forced to move their place of operation to a sub-station because of heavy flood waters. The police department lost at least three vehicles to the water damage and is having fifteen to eighteen cars and eight motorcycles cleaned and dried out after they suffered extensive damage. Part of the roof caved in a the Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro when a pipe broke as a result of the pouring rain.

Road workers were using pumps to clear a portion of Storrow Drive in Boston and Mass. Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joe Pesatura said that the Fitchburg line of the commuter train track was closed after water flooded the tracks in Somerville. Due to the train track flooding, passengers were taken by bus to nearby subway lines.

The greater Boston area had been very dry prior to the heavy rain that moved into the area over the weekend. The hard, dry ground simply could not soak in the rain quickly enough, making the rain cause flash flooding that very few residents were prepared for. The only positive aspect to the storm was the fact that the temperatures cooled down from a recent stretch of temps well above 90 degrees.