Irene leaves parts of Plymouth & Holderness under water

HOLDERNESS — Calling the flooding in Plymouth and Holderness the worst he'd ever seen in those towns, Governor John Lynch said yesterday he'd ask the federal government to declare the areas affected by heavy rains on Sunday as disaster zones, a designation which would make federal dollars available for cleanup and repair efforts.

Lynch made the statement after touring, via helicopter, flooding damage in Hart's Location, Lincoln, Plymouth and the section of Holderness containing athletic facilities of Plymouth State University.

Lynch noted that the federal government had already consented to a request that the state be declared a pre-disaster area, meaning that efforts by the state, municipalities and non-profit organizations to prepare for the storm could be reimbursed at the rate of 75-percent. "That helps quite a bit," he said. After seeing on Monday damage from the heavy rains that fell as a tropical storm — remnants of Hurricane Irene — moved through the state the day before, Lynch felt the Federal Emergency Management Agency would agree that parts of the state constituted a disaster. The worst damage, he noted, would be found in Carrol, Grafton and Coös counties.

"I have never seen this much flooding in the town of Plymouth," Lynch said.

Brian Murphy, code enforcement officer and deputy emergency management director for Plymouth, said the Pemigewasset River, which runs just to the east of downtown, is considered to be at flood stage when it reaches 13 feet. At its height on Sunday the river was running 21.69 feet, which flooded Route 175-A with as much as seven feet of water, causing the closure of an Irving gas station and exit ramps for I-93.

In other parts of town, flooding caused the closure of Route 3 south of downtown and isolated about 50 homes on Loon Lake Road.

The flooding on Route 175-A necessitated the evacuation of homes on North River Street and South River Street, said Holderness Police Chief Jeremiah Patridge. Those homes are mostly rented to university students, he said, and an emergency shelter was opened by the school to accomodate evacuees.

The flooding also infiltrated the university's athletic field house, spreading water about an inch deep in some parts of the building. More water made its way into the Savage Welcome Center and Hanaway Rink, a $16-million building opened last year. Patridge said that by 3:30 a.m. on Monday there was as much as six inches of water standing on the ice rink. Cleanup crews were working yesterday to air out the building and remove sodden items.

The rink and welcome center was designed with doors that should have repelled flood waters. Sara Jayne Steen, president of Plymouth State University, said it was not clear on Monday how the water infiltrated the new, state-of-the-art building. "It was not entirely water-tight," she said, adding that the university would investigate why the building didn't stay dry. She also didn't know what the extent of the flood damage was.

Plymouth State University had initially planned to host student move-in on Sunday, the day that the storm arrived in New Hampshire, but has rescheduled that to today. The first day of classes was also moved, from Wednesday to Thursday of this week. Jayne Steen said the lost day would be treated the same as if classes had been canceled due to snow. The school expected about 4,300 undergraduates to arrive this week, 41 percent from out-of-state.

CAPTION for GOVERNOR FLOOD

Governor John Lynch talks with Holderness Fire Chief Eleanor Mardin during a tour of flood-affected parts of the state yesterday. Mardin enlisted Lynch's influence to expedite the re-opening of an exit off of Route 93 though state Department of Transportation workers had already quit for the day. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)

CAPTION for PSU FLOOD

Stacy Therrien, a self-described "hockey mom" from Plymouth, lays soaked White Mountain Youth Hockey equipment on the lawn outside Plymouth State University's Hanaway Rink on Monday. The year-old athletic facility and welcome center was flooded as a result of a tropical storm on Sunday. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)