WOODSVILLE — As much as 5 inches of rain hammered the town of Haverhill on Tuesday morning, washing out some roads and flooding Cottage Hospital’s operating rooms in Woodsville.
Flooded roads left two residents completely stranded and affected hundreds of others, Haverhill officials said.
“There was some very localized heavy rainfall there,” said meteorologist Michael Clair of the National Weather Service based out of Gray, Maine.
About 5 inches of rain fell in the course of three hours between 6 and 9 a.m., Clair said.
Hospital staff described the rainfall as “torrential,” Cottage CEO Maria Ryan said in an email on Tuesday afternoon, and forced the postponement of 12 surgical procedures.
“The flood came in fast then started to (recede),” she said.
Equipment in the operating rooms and specialty area was not damaged in the flooding, and the spaces were being dried on Tuesday afternoon in preparation to resume emergency surgeries that evening, Ryan said.
“Cottage Hospital is the only designated trauma center in the North Country, so it is imperative that we get up (and) running quickly,” Ryan said.
Flooded roads also left two Haverhill residents stranded. Daniels Road and Ansley Road became impassable, Town Manager Brigitte Codling said. In addition, Court Street, Country Land Drive, Brushwood Road and Depot Street were down to one lane.
Officials have contacted the two residents who have been cut off so they know whom to call if they need anything, Codling said. No one was injured in the floods, she said.
While road crews were out working to reopen roads on Tuesday, Codling said additional work would be needed to fully repair them as some had partially washed away. She said the last time the town had seen such damage due to flooding was in July 2017.
“I’m hoping that the governor declares an emergency at this point,” she said.
In the meantime, she said the town was bracing for more rain.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
