Downpour floods parking lots and washes out roads, leading to rescues

By BELLA LEVAVI

Staff Writer

Published: 07-21-2023 8:52 PM

Torrential downpours continued to plague the region on Friday, causing flash flooding that left residents pumping water from their basements, wading to their cars and even coping with collapsed roadways.

On Lower Road in Deerfield, a culvert collapsed at around 3:15 p.m. due to too much water swelling a creek that flows into the Deerfield River. The collapse led to an SUV, which was traveling northbound at the time, falling into the river, with one female occupant inside.

According to Ben Clark, Deerfield’s assistant fire chief, firefighters were able to rescue the woman, who did not sustain any major injuries. She was transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

Samantha Booker, who works in the obstetrics and gynecology office of Greenfield Family Medicine at 48 Sanderson St. in Greenfield, said she came out of work to find her red Honda Civic partially flooded and had to move the vehicle to a different section of the parking lot. She said she scooped out most of the water but predicted having to vacuum out more and use fans to dry the interior.

“I’m going to have to find [a good mechanic],” she said.

The National Weather Service reported that between 3 and 5.5 inches of rain fell between 3 and 4 p.m. An additional 1 to 2 inches of rain were expected Friday night. Clark said a local farmer reported more than 5 inches of rain where the culvert collapsed in Deerfield.

“There are multiple reports of flooded homes and basements in Conway, along with multiple road closures in Conway, Greenfield and Deerfield,” the National Weather Service reported in its Hazardous Weather Outlook.

Among the Deerfield roads that were closed due to flooding, as of 4 p.m., were Route 116 to Conway, Routes 5 and 10 from North Hillside Road to the Greenfield town line, Stillwater Road from Lee Road to the Stillwater Bridge and Hoosac Road, in addition to Lower Road.

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“We had flooding on roads we have never seen flooding before,” Clark said. “Multiple roads are shut in Deerfield.”

Kyle Cogswell, deputy fire chief in Turners Falls, said surface drains became overwhelmed, which led to residents’ basements flooding and “considerable damage.”

The Turners Falls Fire Department also responded to a lightning strike close to a home. One person got shocked from residual electricity of the strike but refused transportation by American Medical Response (AMR), according to Cogswell.

“Everything happened all in 15 minutes,” Cogswell said, referring to the initial downpour at around 4 p.m.

The Orange Fire Department also reported flooding. The town experienced 2 to 3.5 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

A sanitary sewer overflow, consisting of untreated sewage and waste, also surfaced in Greenfield on Friday at 4:07 p.m. The city, along with the Water Pollution Control Facility and the Department of Public Works, reported the overflow. The sewage was discharging at a rate of 1,500 gallons per minute.

The overflow impacted the Green River and Deerfield River in Greenfield, as well as the Connecticut River in Deerfield, Montague and Sunderland.

According to the National Weather Service, Franklin County and North Quabbin communities to experience flash flooding include Greenfield, Deerfield, Montague, Bernardst on, Buckland, Conway, Shelburne, Ashfield, Gill, Whately, Leyden, Orange, Deerfield, Athol, Montague, Sunderland, Northfield, Leverett, Erving, Shutesbury, Gill, Royalston, New Salem, Wendell and Warwick.

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