'A real Groundhog Day': Major floods again leave the state scrambling

Heavy rains and melting snow swelled Rhode Island's rivers and streams on Wednesday, flooding homes and businesses, prompting emergency evacuations and even washing away a section of road in Cumberland.

In Johnston, residents of the Park Plaza apartments – including one extremely displeased cat – had to be rescued by firefighters, who transported them to dry land in an inflatable dinghy or carried them across the flooded parking lot on their backs.

The income-restricted complex sits alongside the Pocasset River and is surrounded by flood-prone wetlands, but resident Andrea Nobile said she hadn't seen the water reach such a height since 2010.

Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. said 20 of the complex's 62 units had to be evacuated. A local gym is being turned into an emergency shelter, he said.

In West Warwick, the Fire Department rescued 40 people from their homes by boat, Battalion Chief Paul Boisclair said. The Rhode Island Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter at the West Warwick Civic Center. \]A 'real Groundhog Day moment' for businesses recovering from December floods.

For businesses just beginning to recover from December's torrential floods, the overnight storm was yet another setback.

"We’re having a real 'Groundhog Day' moment here," the owners of Apponaug Brewing Co. wrote on Facebook.

The brewery had been set to re-open on Thursday after an extended closure prompted by the last round of flooding, but called those plans off after the Pawtuxet River once again overflowed its banks, turning the parking lot into a pond and seeping into the building.

"We made an incredible amount of progress in three weeks, and were ready to open the doors once again," the brewery's Facebook post said. "However, Mother Nature really had other plans for us ... We hope the collective power of positive thoughts will keep this round of flooding to a minimum."

In Providence, the West River once again flooded the Branch Avenue Plaza, where water poured out of the CitiTrends storefront and sandbags sat against the door of the Crazy Crab Cajun seafood joint.

Heavy rain, snowmelt overfill rivers, flood roads

Wednesday's flooding followed a fierce wind and rain storm that battered the state overnight with gusts of up to 65 mph. More than 1,000 Rhode Island Energy customers had lost power by 7 a.m., but most had service restored by 10 a.m.

Providence received more than 3 inches of rain, while other areas like Smithfield got nearly 5 inches. The downpour also washed away what was left of the weekend's snow, swelling local streams and rivers.

The snowmelt was equivalent to "at least another inch" of rain, according to Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Low-lying, flood-prone roads through the state were impassible on Wednesday morning. A portion of Route 146 in Lincoln was closed in both directions for about an hour due to flooding and stranded vehicles.

MBTA commuter rail service from Providence was also temporarily suspended due to flooded tracks.

Schools in Warwick, West Warwick, Coventry and West Greenwich closed or switched to distance learning for the day, while at least a half dozen other districts delayed start times by two hours.

Sinkholes, moats and flooded basements

In Cumberland, an overflowing Sneech Brook washed away a segment of Westwood Drive, effectively creating a moat in the midst of a suburban neighborhood. Meanwhile, in West Warwick, a gaping sinkhole opened up on Greenbush Road, near Greenbush Elementary School.

Homeowners throughout the state spent the day trying to salvage belongings from flooded basements.

Allen Campbell, who lives on Belfield Drive in Johnston, said that his sump pump stopped working once it became submerged by water that pooled behind his house.

The water in his basement was 40 inches deep by Wednesday afternoon, all of the possessions that he'd packed up in preparation to sell his house and move were floating in amber water.

"It probably rose about 18 inches in the past 24 hours," Campbell said, gesturing at the water in his flooded backyard. "It’s come about 60 feet from where it normally rests."

The worst part, he said, was losing all his art materials.

Meanwhile, Pawtucket City Hall was closed on Wednesday due to leaks and water damage from the building's crumbling Art Deco tower. A City Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday night was been postponed until next week, spokeswoman Grace Voll said.

The heavy rain and snowmelt also resulted in heavy runoff that caused several combined sewer overflow discharges, the state Department of Environmental Management said Wednesday. Shellfishing areas north of Quonset Point and Jamestown have been temporarily closed due to the risk of bacterial contamination.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Flooding in Rhode Island Wednesday a 'real Groundhog Day' experience