MANCHESTER, N.H. — Heavy, continuous rain in parts of northern New England over the past few days led to flash flooding, washed out roads and a few home rescues, authorities said.
The latest rains come as what has been a soggy July in some parts of the region, and Portland, Maine’s second rainiest on record, comes to an end.
Police in Marlow, in southwestern New Hampshire, said four people and two animals were rescued Thursday night from a home off Route 10 that had water rushing into the basement, WMUR-TV reported. About 15 miles north, a fire department ladder truck helped with a home rescue in Goshen.
“I’ve never seen it rain that hard in that short a time before,” said Kevin Bevilacqua, a road agent in Goshen. “We’ve got about five roads washed out and a bunch of people out of their houses.”
New Hampshire State Police responded to a number of flash-flooding calls in Goshen and Newport about 5 miles away.
During the evening shift, members of #NHSP #TroopC responded to multiple calls related to heavy rainfall and flooding. Below are a few photos from Newport (John Stark Highway) and Goshen. #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/XDVBdMUsBk
— New Hampshire State Police (@NH_StatePolice) July 30, 2021
Flood warnings were in effect for some areas of the state through Saturday morning.
In Bellows Falls, Vermont, there was waist-deep water in some neighborhoods. Firefighters pumped water from the basements of half a dozen homes. In Putney, a number of local roads were closed by flooding.
Highway workers were out Friday assessing the damage.
Portland was approaching 10 inches of rain after Thursday’s storm, and Concord, New Hampshire, had recorded 13.04 inches of rain through Thursday, further solidifying its dubious distinction as the wettest July on record. The old record was 10.29 inches in 1915, said meteorologist Hunter Tubbs from the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service in Burlington says that in northern Vermont, rainfall this July has been about normal, but it has been rainier in Rutland, Windsor, Bennington and Windham.
Meteorologist Robert Haynes said Friday that the Springfield, Vermont, airport has seen record rainfall of 9.13 inches, but the records only go back to the late 1990s.
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