Be careful what you wish for
WORCESTER – A torrential rainstorm caused widespread flooding throughout the city Friday night, leaving dozens of motorists stuck in cars and leading to the shutdown of both sides of Interstate 290.
"I've never experienced it this bad in my 30 years," said Deputy Fire Chief John F. Sullivan, estimating at least a couple dozen people were pulled from cars across the city.
"We had bystanders down here on Major Taylor Boulevard pulling people out,” he said, noting water under the bridge near the street eclipsed the 12-foot mark.
According to Accuweather, Worcester received at least 4 inches of rainfall, with some outlets reporting close to 5 in some areas. Experiencing an extreme drought, the city has been hoping for rain - but not like this.
State police confirmed they took over 911 calls from Worcester for a time after weather-related dispatch issues; I-290 was shut down in both directions near Exit 13, Trooper Matthew Guarino said, because of the flooding.
As of 9:30 p.m, two lanes had reopened westbound, police said, while the eastbound side was still shut down as tow trucks pulled cars out of the water.
A large sinkhole opened up on Route 9 in Shrewsbury, MetroWest Daily News reported.
Power failures also occurred. National Grid reported about 1,500 customers without power around Kelley Square and Elm Park at 9:45 p.m. Saturday morning at 9:45. National Grid's power outage map showed a little under 2,000 without power at 11 Saturday morning.
The city issued a tweet at 7:48 p.m. asking people to stay off the roads; police issued a news release at 8:26 p.m. urging the same.
Police began receiving calls for stuck motorists before 7 p.m., when the National Weather Service reported two inches of rain had already fallen. The service issued a flash flood warning Friday evening, but the fury with which the rain fell seemed to be largely underestimated.
"In my 30 years on the job, I've never seen anything like this," Police Chief Steven M. Sargent said around 11:15 p.m. as he gazed at a huge pond of water that formed under the bridge that runs over MLK Jr. Boulevard. The hood of a car peeked up through the water.
Chief Sargent and City Manager Edward M. Augustus were driving around the city late Friday night surveying the damage. Both men noted none of the forecasters predicted anything near like what happened and praised the work of emergency crews who responded.
"It's all hands on deck tonight," said Mr. Augustus, who spent the evening at the Emergency Operations Center on Coppage Drive.
The pair said that despite dozens of calls for trapped motorists and untold property damage, there are no reports as of yet of any injuries. Two firetrucks got stuck in the water, they said, including one near Green Island, which appeared to have been the hardest-hit area.
"I think this is an unprecedented storm," said Mr. Augustus, adding that some reports he saw had as much as 3 or 4 inches of rain falling in just about an hour.
"The sewer systems - our systems in general - just can't handle that much at once," he said, noting many homes may have experienced backup.
Mr. Augustus said that the city opened floodgates referred to as the "Auburn floodgates" on Webster Street Friday night to prevent flooding; he said DPW Commissioner Paul J. Moosey couldn't ever remember that happening.
The chief and city manager warned against people going for swims in the city's new ponds. In addition to possibly being contaminated with sewage, manhole covers could have slipped off, they said, making a potentially dangerous situation.
"Be careful walking," Mr. Augustus cautioned.
As the men talked, the water underneath the bridge showed no signs of receding. The calm, tranquil pond, reflecting the reds and yellows of city lights and covered by a bridge, almost resembled an impressionist painting.
"DPW will figure it out," Chief Sargent said with a smile when asked how the city would get the water out.
As a concert at the Palladium let out Friday night, a group of young men stood in awe at the bridge as they pondered how to get around it to where their car was parked.
"It smells like low tide at the beach," observed Chris Richmond of Oxford. "That's nuts."
Earlier, about 7:30 p.m, Gilberto Ledesma expressed similar sentiment on Madison Street as he watched cars trudge through the rain.
"I had no idea it was going to be like this," said Mr. Ledesma, the owner of a tire repair business.
Mr. Ledesma had a car up on jacks when it started to pour around 6:30 p.m. He said most cars were getting through Kelley Square OK, despite water gushing out of storm drains and other openings and rushing into the street.
Matt Barrett emailed the T&G that he stood near the Gulf station on the corner of Hammond and Southbridge streets for two and a half hours: "A number of people tried to cross the lake; some with near success, but none with full success." Drivers who braved the approximately 5 feet of water "soon found their fate as the rest; floating, stalled, and stranded."
The city streets were noticeably devoid of foot traffic Friday evening as rain came down sideways and a robust thunder cracked and flashed overhead. But traffic was fairly steady on the streets, with motorists routinely stopping in front of huge puddles and horns blaring.
Homes were also flooded; Gretchen Dean, who owns a three-decker on Ellsworth Street, sent in a picture showing water above her basement’s circuit-breaker.
“Our tenants are swimming home,” Ms. Dean said, voicing frustration that flooding on her street is always "awful," even after 15-minute storms
“Why is it so bad?” she asked. “I don’t know any other city that floods like this.”
Friday's storm will likely end up being historic; Worcester police at 9:30 p.m. had issued a list of nearly a dozen streets closed, including Park Avenue, Shrewsbury Street, Endicott Street, Canterbury Street, Lower Grafton Street, Millbrook Street, Grafton Street at Route 20, College Street at Southbridge Street, Brooks Street, Quinsigamond Ave./Cambridge, Willow Street and Birmingham Street.
The streets were still listed as closed as of 12:30 a.m.
It began to rain again Saturday about 11 a.m., just as The National Weather Service had predicted. It is expected to clear up and turn windy later.
The Weather Service said 2 to 3 inches of rain fell on other communities, including Chelmsford and Leominster. Some utility customers were without power for several hours.
Contact Brad Petrishen at brad.petrishen@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BPetrishenTG.
