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Search continues for the missing after New Hampshire floods; more rain forecast
By KATHARINE WEBSTER, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 | No comments posted.
ALSTEAD, N.H. (AP) - Linda Pelow was in her house alone when the floodwaters suddenly surrounded it.
”I grabbed the puppy and went up to the attic,“ she said. ”It was like watching the tsunami come at me, because all of a sudden, here comes the mud.“
Pelow said she did not expect to survive Sunday's floodwaters, but her house was left standing.
”I just prayed and prayed. I thought I was gone with it,“ she said. ”I am totally the luckiest person still in Alstead.“
Rain began falling Wednesday morning over the hard-hit areas of southwestern New Hampshire, and the National Weather Service said more flooding could be on the way if rainfall exceeded the 3 to 6 inches predicted into Thursday. Flood watches were announced for several locations.
”More rain could bring us back to square one,“ Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus said. ”We're doing everything we can to prepare (for it).“
The news came as rescue crews and police dogs continued searching rivers and woods for four people missing in New Hampshire after a weekend of heavy downpours that left at least 10 people dead from Maine to Pennsylvania.
From Friday evening through Sunday, rainstorms dumped as much as 10 inches on New England and the mid-Atlantic states. In New Hampshire, the storm dropped 10.8 inches in Hinsdale and 10.5 inches in Keene.
Gov. John Lynch said the floods were the worst the state had experienced in a quarter-century, and he sought a federal disaster declaration. Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were expected to arrive later this week.
Help continued pouring into the small New Hampshire towns devastated by flooding.
Coordination, though, was made more difficult because all the equipment the Alstead police department had to deal with such a disaster - a ham radio, two-way radios, emergency generators and other equipment - was destroyed when the police station flooded almost to the ceiling.
”All of our police records, computers, weapons ... everything that was in there is gone. It's destroyed,“ Alstead police Chief Christopher Lyon said.
Among those still missing Tuesday were Sally and Tim Canfield, whose home was washed away by floodwaters. The Canfields had twice declined to evacuate.
”These kids grew up here. They grew up on the river and never saw it high enough to do any damage,“ said Rick Mason, a brother-in-law of Tim Canfield.
Power was restored Wednesday morning to more than two-thirds of the 1,500 customers in western New Hampshire that lost service. The electric company, National Grid, expected to have power restored to remaining customers later Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Verizon reported 1,000 to 1,200 customers lost phone service in the storm. The company expected to restore service to most customers by the end of Wednesday and the rest on Thursday.
”I grabbed the puppy and went up to the attic,“ she said. ”It was like watching the tsunami come at me, because all of a sudden, here comes the mud.“
Pelow said she did not expect to survive Sunday's floodwaters, but her house was left standing.
”I just prayed and prayed. I thought I was gone with it,“ she said. ”I am totally the luckiest person still in Alstead.“
Rain began falling Wednesday morning over the hard-hit areas of southwestern New Hampshire, and the National Weather Service said more flooding could be on the way if rainfall exceeded the 3 to 6 inches predicted into Thursday. Flood watches were announced for several locations.
”More rain could bring us back to square one,“ Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus said. ”We're doing everything we can to prepare (for it).“
The news came as rescue crews and police dogs continued searching rivers and woods for four people missing in New Hampshire after a weekend of heavy downpours that left at least 10 people dead from Maine to Pennsylvania.
From Friday evening through Sunday, rainstorms dumped as much as 10 inches on New England and the mid-Atlantic states. In New Hampshire, the storm dropped 10.8 inches in Hinsdale and 10.5 inches in Keene.
Gov. John Lynch said the floods were the worst the state had experienced in a quarter-century, and he sought a federal disaster declaration. Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were expected to arrive later this week.
Help continued pouring into the small New Hampshire towns devastated by flooding.
Coordination, though, was made more difficult because all the equipment the Alstead police department had to deal with such a disaster - a ham radio, two-way radios, emergency generators and other equipment - was destroyed when the police station flooded almost to the ceiling.
”All of our police records, computers, weapons ... everything that was in there is gone. It's destroyed,“ Alstead police Chief Christopher Lyon said.
Among those still missing Tuesday were Sally and Tim Canfield, whose home was washed away by floodwaters. The Canfields had twice declined to evacuate.
”These kids grew up here. They grew up on the river and never saw it high enough to do any damage,“ said Rick Mason, a brother-in-law of Tim Canfield.
Power was restored Wednesday morning to more than two-thirds of the 1,500 customers in western New Hampshire that lost service. The electric company, National Grid, expected to have power restored to remaining customers later Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Verizon reported 1,000 to 1,200 customers lost phone service in the storm. The company expected to restore service to most customers by the end of Wednesday and the rest on Thursday.
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