Storm brings heavy rain, flooding to southern NH

NASHUA Emergency crews were busy dealing with a variety of flooding problems during Thursday's heavy rainfall, including a collapsed retaining wall, an overflowing detention pond and a sidewalk sinkhole.

The city's street department and wastewater department responded to about 20 areas in Nashua during the height of the nor'easter, which forced the closure of some roadways.

Cleveland Street at Almont Street was closed on Thursday when three vehicles became stuck in high water, according to local police. Vine Street was also a problematic area for motorists as about three-feet of water pooled in the vicinity of 112-117 Vine St., said emergency officials.

We definitely have some flooding in the city, Justin Kates, director of Nashua's Office of Emergency Management, said Thursday afternoon. Thankfully we were able to get some lead time on this storm, so we got crews out early to clear storm drains in advance. Unfortunately, we couldn't get to them all.

Significant roadway flooding was reported at Murphy Drive and Northeastern Boulevard, and vehicles were encouraged to avoid that area of the city on Thursday.

There was a detention pond overflow at Rivier University, and a sinkhole in the sidewalk near 7 Fletcher St.

Kates said a low retaining wall in the downtown area behind Portland Pie Company caused minor concerns when it collapsed Thursday morning. The wall fell into the railbed, so PanAm will be working on it. The fire department did go out there and deemed there was no life safety hazard, said Kates. Fortunately, that is not a heavily traveled area.

Roadway flooding also occurred on Sargent Avenue, Fairmount Street, Concord Street, Summer Street, Arlington Street, Main Dunstable Road and other local roads.

Kates said this is a challenging time of year when it rains, as leaves are blocking storm drains and it often comes the number one cause for urban flooding.

It really makes a mess. Thankfully, we know the problem areas in the city and we sent crews out in advance to help alleviate some of the issues, said Kates. All of the crews are out and it is all hands on deck.

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Storm brings heavy rain, flooding to southern NH