Flood, Providence
- When
- March 29, 4:00 PM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Providence County, 1.15 mi S of Howard to 0.95 mi W of Moosup Vly
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $27 million
- Reported by
- Amateur Radio
- Coordinates
- 41.734, -71.454
Six to nine inches of rain fell across Providence County, resulting in rises on both the Blackstone River at Woonsocket and the Pawtuxet River at Cranston. The Blackstone rose to moderate flood and the Pawtuxet rose to nearly 21 feet, surpassing the previous flood of record set only two weeks prior of nearly 15 feet. The Woonasquatucket, Runnins, and Ten Mile Rivers also flooded.
Several small streams rose above flood stage across Providence County, including the Woonasquatucket River at Centerdale and the Branch River near North Smithfield.
Numerous streets and basements were flooded across all of Providence County, including Cranston, North Smithfield, Johnston, Scituate, East Providence, North Providence, Providence, Pawtucket, and Cumberland. Several were undermined and eroding away, including the major east/west route through Cumberland, Nate Whipple Highway (Route 120) and Old Sayles Hill Road in North Smithfield. The portion of Old Sayles Hill Road that eroded leads to a dead end, stranding residents at the end. Flooding over the railroad tracks between Providence and Attleboro, MA resulted in the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority cancelling commuter rail service to Providence.
About 45 people were evacuated from the Riveredge Village apartment complex in the Manton neighborhood of Providence. Roughly 120 homes were evacuated in the Valley View neighborhood in Cranston. A four building condo complex on Fordson Avenue was also evacuated. About 300 people total were evacuated from their homes in Cranston. In Cumberland, all 193 apartments in the Ashton Mill complex and 200 residents of an assisted living facility (One Mendon Road) were evacuated. A house on Dexter Lane in Scituate was flooded, trapping an elderly resident. Houses near the intersection of Warren and Waterman Avenues in East Providence were evacuated. Tenants from lower level units of an apartment building on Exchange Court in Pawtuxet were asked to evacuate due to flooding. A car on Valley Street in Providence was stuck in flood waters, leaving the driver stranded. Two homes on Tuxedo Street in Providence were looted while their owners were kept away for safety reasons.
The Woonasquatucket River rose in Providence inundating two major parks and the Eagle Square shopping center, including an Eye and Audiology Clinic for the VA Hospital. It also flooded a bridge that takes Valley Street over the river and forced the evacuation of houses and some apartment complexes in nearby neighborhoods, incluing Olneyville and Manton. The animal shelter in Cumberland was evacuated to the animal shelter in nearby Lincoln.
One of Cumberland's largest employers, Hope Global, was damaged by the flooding. Employees were able to safeguard much of the equipment at the company by raising it off the floor several feet but 30,000 square feet worth of offices and furniture were ruined. Damage estimates for Hope Global thus far have totaled around $400,000.
In Woonsocket, flooding caused a national computer system failure at CVS that affected prescription services in all 7,000 of its pharmacies. Stores were able to fill prescriptions but were unable to process insurance claims. This resulted in some delays in filling the prescriptions.
In North Providence, a dam was breached, emptying Geneva Pond into West River. A nearby bridge that carries Douglas Avenue over West River sustained damage to its abutments and was closed.
The Cranston wastewater treatment plant failed during the flooding, untreated sewage into the Pocasset River at a rate of 8 million gallons per day.
In Johnston, the Pocasset Bridge on Route 14 (Plainfield Street) that spans the Pocasset River was closed after it started to show four large cracks. Several items that had floated down the river were caught under the bridge, blocking the water flow. City Hall experienced some flooding as well, prompting employees to shut down the computer system.