Who'll stop the rain?

The flooding in Lancaster (and in my basement!) continues to be a concern. The Telegram and Gazette reported this morning that a handful of homes near the meeting of the rivers were only accessible by boat:

A boat was needed to get to two homes off Bolton Road in Lancaster yesterday afternoon, making that part of town look more like the Louisiana bayou than New England. “One occupant has voluntarily evacuated, but the other is staying,” said Lancaster Fire Chief John T. Fleck. “That means if there’s an emergency, we can only get to them by boat.”...

In Lancaster, the rising water levels of the Nashua River forced the closing of busy Route 117 in the North Village yesterday. Chief Fleck said he expected to open the road by 5 p.m. yesterday if the water had receded.

Bolton and Center Bridge roads remain closed and under several feet of water. The rising water yesterday flooded over a 2-foot earthen berm around a Center Bridge Road home, causing water to pour into the house.

I can tell you route 117 was not open last night as of about 6 p.m. All of the traffic was still being routed through South Lancaster via route 110 and Mill Street. That area of town was near gridlock with all of the traffic heading home to Leominster.

This is the second time in a year (and third time in a little over 18 months) that significant flooding has affected town.

The Times & Courier has posted a couple of videos of the flooding at Center Bridge Road (via you tube):

Tags: Massachusetts Lancaster Flood Nashua River