A soggy N.E. waits for the clouds to part

LOWELL -- State and local officials hoped the end had arrived for a storm system that flooded rivers, closed or washed out roads, and eroded coastal beaches to the point where houses fell into the surf.

"There are areas that have been impacted and individual homeowners and basements that have been impacted," said Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

But conditions did not approach those of May 2006, when floods swept the region, compromised numerous dams, caused about $80 million in damage, and killed two people, Judge added.

"The weather was just not as bad," he said.

In New Hampshire, officials in Newmarket and Hollis kept wary eyes on dams under stress from high water flows as that state struggled to overcome a greater level of damage than seen in Massachusetts, officials said.

In Maine, three people died in storm-related events, and officials predicted damage to public infrastructure will eclipse that of the May 2006 storm.

Utility companies in both states were working to restore power to thousands of customers in areas where falling tree limbs severed power lines and frustrated crews as they tried to repair the damage.

In Massachusetts, coastal areas remained on alert into this morning because of the seasonal high tides that have washed onto roads in Greater Boston since the rains began Sunday. The region has seen 2 to 6 inches of rain.

Dozens of basements were flooded, but officials said no major property damage was reported in mainland coastal communities such as Winthrop and Revere.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that it's over," said Fire Chief Edward Hurley of Scituate, where some roads were periodically closed and at least one residence was evacuated because of the high tides.

The storm hit the southwest shore of Nantucket and bit chunks out of fragile sand bluffs in Maddaket, loosening the foundation beneath a half-dozen houses. One of the cottages on Sheep Pond Road dropped into the ocean, one was deemed uninhabitable, and four need to have their foundations reinforced, said Nantucket Fire Chief Mark McDougall.

In Lowell, City Manager Bernard Lynch said that emergency work during the past several days prevented greater flood damage in the city and that some sewer work after last year's flood prevented a build up.

For Debbie Luna of Lowell , the issue was restoring the house that she and her family had just finished repairing after last year's flooding. Yesterday, as the family's latest recovery effort began , a 4-inch hose spewed tan water from her first-floor walkout, where she and her husband, Tony, had their bedroom.

Having suffered flooding last year, Luna knows what her future probably holds, tearing out the drywall down to the concrete foundation and then disinfecting to prevent mold and other growth that can trigger health problems.

"It will be bleach, bleach, bleach," she said of her residence on New York Street, which is normally about 100 feet from the banks of Beaver Brook.

In Methuen, Thomas Wahlers stood on Route 110 and looked down a hillside at his house, which was surrounded by at least 5 feet of water from the Merrimack River, which is normally more than 100 feet away. Most of his neighbors on Armory Street suffered the same fate.

Wahlers spent $40,000 repairing the damage from last year's storm and was trying to sell his house because his career has taken him to New York state. Now he is looking at thousands more in repairs, he said.

At the same time, Wahlers wondered whether local, state, and federal officials were doing enough, or the wrong thing, to control the flooding of the Merrimack. He said the water rose much faster this year, even though the rainfall was substantially less, giving him less time to prepare.

"Is it manmade or is it Mother Nature that is doing this?" he asked. "Do they have their act together?"

Timothy J. Duggan, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers for New England, said the Corps' flood-reduction system can control only 30 percent of the water flowing through the Merrimack River watershed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The rest is controlled by natural forces, he said. He said that the persistent rains arrived with the highest tides of the year, essentially backing up water flow from land to sea, and that water volume was increased by snowmelt from New Hampshire.

"We can't control the entire [Merrimack] river," Duggan said. "Unfortunately, that rain has to go somewhere; it will seek the lowest point."

Globe correspondents Daniel Muse and Amanda Bergeron contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was also used. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com; Ryan at aryan@globe.com.