US officials complete a tour of flooded homes

Federal emergency officials finished their tour of flood-damaged houses and businesses in Massachusetts a day earlier than expected yesterday, amid mounting indications that they will recommend that President Bush make disaster aid available to flood victims in 44 communities.

The four survey teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency had planned to tour areas flooded in last week's torrential rains until today, but Massachusetts emergency officials determined that the inspectors had seen enough by yesterday to prove that the northeastern part of the state should be declared a federal disaster area.

''What we've seen in the last two days is just phenomenal, people struggling to this day with 3 or 4 feet of water," said John Giarrusso of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, who escorted FEMA officials to areas along the swollen Merrimack River yesterday.

Giarrusso said the federal officials had been impressed by the extent of the flooding, which the state estimates has damaged about 14,000 homes. Melrose alone reported basement flooding or worse in 3,600 of the 9,000 residences; Ipswich officials estimated that at least 3,000 of the 6,000 homes had been flooded. ''I've never seen anything like it," said the Town Manager Robert T. Markel of Ipswich.

FEMA officials said they wanted to tally the results of their survey before commenting in detail, but a federal spokesman said the state's damage assessment, which was grimmer than expected, appeared to be realistic.

''We have seen damage that is consistent with what the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency was initially getting," said a FEMA spokesman, Marty Bahamonde.

If FEMA recommends that the region be declared a disaster area and if President Bush agrees, residents of the area who have suffered flood damage would be eligibile for financial assistance.

FEMA would grant aid on a case-by-case basis. In addition, businesses would be eligible for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration.

Yesterday, the surveyors saw why Massachusetts officials believe the flooding was the worst to hit the area in seven decades. Unlike Friday, when rainy weather and residents' work schedules limited FEMA's contact with flood victims, people were out trying to clean up their homes yesterday.

On River Street in Haverhill, a weary Beverly Rogers displayed to FEMA inspectors a pile of chairs, bookcases, toys, and other belongings that had been pulled out of her first floor and basement, after the Merrimack overflowed its banks and rushed into her windows.

''It happened so quick," she said, addng that, in 15 years, she had never experienced flooding before. ''We went to bed on Monday night, and there wasn't even water in the basement. We evacuated on Tuesday night."

A few blocks away, at 22 Phoenix Row, a seven-story apartment building for the elderly remained dark and empty, its 102 residents in temporary housing.

A sewage pumping station next door had been overwhelmed by the flood, and it sent a geyser of water shooting 20 feet into the air from a nearby manhole, Haverhill oficials said. The sewage quickly inundated surrounding buildings.

''It lifted up refrigerators that were still in their boxes," said the Rev. David Thomas, president of Bethany Homes, which owns 22 Phoenix Row.

But Linda Leeds of Haverhill, standing in front of the partially submerged and twisted docks that were the heart of her family's marina business, sought to put the flood into perspective.

''I watched Katrina, and my heart still goes out to those people," she said. ''We have our home. Other people don't have a home to go to."

Bahamonde said that the survey teams would begin compiling their report based on 24 communities they had visited, in hope of having a preliminary damage estimate by this afternoon.

Next week, the FEMA teams will estimate damage to roads, bridges, and other public structures in the three counties for which Governor Mitt Romney has requested disaster aid. But federal and state emergency officials expect the damage estimate to be far in excess of the $7.5 million threshold to make federal money available to local governments to make repairs.

Michael Levenson of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Scott Allen can be reached at allen@globe.com.