Children in Leominster will return to school Thursday for the first time since Monday’s flooding.
More rain is on the way on Wednesday, after a state of emergency was declared by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey over the catastrophic flooding that impacted communities like Leominster and North Attleborough.
The hope is that the state of emergency will mean a quick pipeline to the federal funding and resources to make the necessary repairs, after sink holes were opened, homes were damaged and streets were washed out.
“We continue to stay coordinated, importantly local government and our state administration, we are here to provide anything and everything we can," Healey said.
On Wednesday, Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella held a news conference alongside other local officials to give an update on the city's recovery efforts following the flood event earlier this week.
Mazzarella announced that schools would reopen on a delayed basis on Thursday, with the city putting "extra people power" in place to help with the process. He said even with a delay, school buses may run behind as they drive detours and impacted roads, so families were urged to exercise patience.
Some of the city's roads have turned into dead-ends.
Eric Morin says the only way in and out of his subdivision is to walk through thick brush, muddy terrain and standing water. It's been like that since Monday, when rain washed away the road.
"To get groceries, to get anything, you have to hike," he said.
With some roads remaining closed, leaders are asking for patience as 22 school buses navigate the city.
"We're working with the bus company right now. I've asked the mayor to have as many people out on traffic duty as possible to help re-route," said Superintendent Paula Deacon. "This is going to be a test. Slow and steady wins the race."
A few people were still in the shelter at Frances Drake Elementary School, but they would be relocated to hotels later Wednesday. Meanwhile the city was working to get power service fully restored to a high-rise building downtown that houses seniors.
The mayor warned that some infrastructure repair projects could take weeks to finish.
"Our goal is to get everyone cleaned up and get things back to normal as soon as we can," Mazzarella said.
The city is working on a temporary fix for the dam at Barrett Park, and also a more permanent one through FEMA grants. Meanwhile, Mazzarella said that Leominster has sump pumps, sand bags and a fund through the United Way to help people impacted by the floodwaters. Extra trash service is also being rolled out for people throwing out debris.
Massachusetts' State Emergency Operations Center is going into an active posture Wednesday afternoon in case communities need help contending with the rain.
In Leominster, much of Tuesday was spent shoring up the two dams in the city that were somewhat compromised when more than nine inches of rain came down Monday in the span of about four hours.
The initial surge of water through the tributaries and rivers created sinkholes throughout the city – including the largest one on Pleasant Street.
Healey said that crews were also working to fix the damage to the railroad tracks that were partially washed out, and shoring up the seven story building from which many senior citizens had to be rescued by boat Monday night.
Detours persist throughout Leominster, and that’s part of the reason why Mayor Dean Mazzarella said they had to cancel school for a second day on Wednesday.
The repair work is now a race against time – and Mother Nature – as more heavy rain is predicted for Wednesday and Hurricane Lee is threatening the region as it churns in the Atlantic.
“We’ll be watching the weather like everyone else, please understand if you get an inch or two inches of rain in a weather event that’s two or three days, that’s a tough one," Mayor Mazzarella said. "We’re talking anywhere from 9 to 11 inches of rain that hit us in four hours. There’s no system in the world that can absorb that amount of rain.”
At this point, it’s unclear how much time it will take to repair the large sinkholes throughout the city and reopen the roads.
Tenants living on the first floor of the Ivory Keys Apartments had their homes damaged with water, after a nearby brook on Adams Street overflowed.
“You could swim out here, we live on the first floor, we had our windows open, we were afraid the water would come into our apartment," tenant Nancy Toledo said.
Meanwhile Wednesday, some areas still have a layer of mud, car trunks were left open to dry and cleanup continues amid the threat of more rain showers on Wednesday.
In North Attleborough, officials reported around 200 homes with flood damage following Monday's rain event. Fire crews responded to 145 calls for service, mostly for issues related to all the water and flooding.
