Misery follows flood's havoc

[Caution]

Misery follows flood's havoc

Residents count the cost to homes, businesses

By Brian MacQuarrie and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff | May 17, 2006

Residents who had been forced to flee began returning yesterday to homes ravaged by flooding and sewage, as Massachusetts prepared for a massive cleanup after the worst floods in 70 years to hit the Merrimack Valley.

With rivers receding, the scope of the devastation was just beginning to emerge, and state officials predicted a slow return to normalcy.

Although they have not yet developed an estimate of the economic impact of the flooding, the consensus is that damage has been staggering.

Some homes are not expected to be habitable for weeks or even months, and it is not yet clear when all the 3,500 to 4,500 residents who left their homes in 17 communities will return.

In Lowell, Diane Laderoute found yesterday that 2 feet of water in her living room meant that she might not be allowed to return for five months. And in Saugus, Daniel Doherty struggled to empty 4 feet of sewage overflow from his children's bedrooms.

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/05/17/misery_follows_floods_havoc/

[donsu]

1. some more american newly poor

there are newly poor every day now

[Gormy Cuss]

4. A lot of the flooded neighborhoods in MA already housed the poor

I recognize some of the areas in the Boston Globe's photo galleries. Those low income people just got poorer. The only saving grace is that so few have died.

[gratuitous]

2. Bush has already warned everyone

Don't look to the federal government for any help. Whether it's a natural disaster, the bird flu, a terrorist attack or what have you, his administration just doesn't have the resources to do anything about all these unforeseen problems that no one could have predicted or anticipated. I mean, it's not like the United States has ever had a natural disaster strike or an outbreak of illness before; how could you possibly think that it's the government's job to take care of its own people?

[jpak]

3. Is FEMA doing a "heckuva job" up there????

Just asking - and hurricane season starts in 2 weeks...

[Acadia Blue]

5. After Katrina, I know how these folks are sufferring. I hope the GOP

led FEMA and others do a better job for them that they did for us.

[uppityperson]

6. Oh dang, I hope, I wish, so sorry people

we are on our own