Massachusetts braces for more rain and major river flooding

PEABODY, Mass. --Hundreds of residents of senior centers and some low-lying neighborhoods were evacuated, sewer systems overflowed and dozens of schools closed because roads were impassable as the rains that have plagued the region for days continued to fall Monday.

And officials said the worst was yet to come, as harder rains predicted for later in the day threatened to push the Merrimack, Charles and other large rivers over their banks, swamping entire neighborhoods.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge.

The National Weather Service predicted that rain totals may hit 15 inches in places by Monday afternoon, triggering the worst flooding some areas have seen since 1936.

Traffic in suburbs of Boston moved at a crawl. Route 1 was closed in both directions north of the city while other highways had to close some travel lanes.

As the waters of the Merrimack continued to rise Monday, the communities of Lawrence, Lowell and Haverhill in the Merrimack Valley were bracing for the worst.

At 5 a.m., the National Weather Service reported the river was at 57.6 feet, more than 5 feet above flood stage. Forecasters said the river could exceed 60 feet by 8 p.m. Monday.

While no mandatory evacuations had been reported, emergency shelters had been set up in the Lowell High School gymnasium and at the Lowell Senior Center on Broadway. Police said Monday that several roads along the river were impassable and there was the potential that the city might have to temporarily close its main water plant because of flooding.

The Spicket Falls dam in Methuen was stable but, Mayor William M. Manzi said a housing complex next to the dam may be evacuated later Monday and power may be cut from the power plant on site as water continues to rise. Water levels were at 11 feet -- two feet above flood stage -- Monday morning.

In Haverhill, the Bethany Homes Senior Center on the banks of the Merrimack evacuated about 100 residents. And about 50 people were asked to leave another neighborhood as a precaution, according to Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini. A sewer line break was flooding the river with sewage, but residents have not been affected.

On Sunday, about 300 people were evacuated from a senior citizens' apartment complex in downtown Peabody, about 20 miles north of Boston.

Charley Ranen was one of several dozen seniors who took shelter at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. If the rain keeps up, Ranen said, he wasn't sure how long some of his sickly neighbors could sleep on cots.

"That's going to be tough on a lot of people," said Ranen, shaking his head. "It's just a mess, I don't know what else to say. There were waves of water."

Gov. Mitt Romney, who visited with residents staying at an emergency shelter at Peabody's high school on Sunday night, headed to Haverhill and other Merrimack Valley communities Monday.

The governor declared a state of emergency Sunday, activating the National Guard and other state services to help local officials respond to the torrential rain that hasn't let up since Friday.

"I have no heat, I have no hot water, and my cellar is flooded up to its tippy top," said Esther Gibely as she paced back and forth at Peabody High.

Businesses stacked sandbags at their doors, trying to prevent damage from water that rose waist-deep. Court officials planned to close Peabody District Court on Monday to keep people away from the city's square.

In Melrose, about 150 residents had to leave their homes after sewage lines backed up into houses, Romney said.

Officials in the fishing community of Gloucester on the North Shore also evacuated about 70 residents from Poplar Park senior home.

The Coast Guard helped Gloucester firefighters fill 1,000 sandbags to help control flooding at the Fuller Elementary School, which was being used as a shelter.

Sandbags were stacked at the Upper Flint Pond Dam in Tyngsborough, and at the Upper Mystic Lake Dam in Arlington, said Judge, the emergency management spokesman.

"We're not aware of any integrity issues with them," he said. "They're basically raising the height of the dams."

National Guard soldiers filled and stacked bags at the Arlington dam, he said.

No deaths or injuries had been reported by early Monday in Massachusetts, state officials said.

Judge warned curious residents not to stray too close to raging waters, likening it to "going down to the seawall to see the hurricane."

"Hopefully, people can watch it on television." he said.