ALSTEAD, NH -- State and local emergency officials blanketed this small town of about 1,800 people Monday, surveying the damage from a weekend deluge that collapsed roads and swept away area homes while preparing for the likelihood of more rain later in the week.
Costs from the flooding that ripped through southwestern New Hampshire are not yet known, officials said, but all agreed it was the worst natural disaster to hit the area in a quarter century.
"The devastation is incredible," Gov. John Lynch said while in Alstead yesterday afternoon. "I've not seen devastation like this in New Hampshire, ever."
The rain started Friday afternoon and evening, dumping about 10 inches of water on towns throughout the region and causing flooding by early Sunday.
Lynch declared a state of emergency and cut short a trip to Europe on Saturday. He has asked for a federal disaster declaration for the area, which would make it eligible for federal reconstruction help. The last such declaration for flooding was in August 2003.
After he toured flooded areas of Keene, Swanzey, Hinsdale, Walpole and Alstead, Lynch headed back to Concord on Monday evening for a meeting at the Emergency Operation Center, where he said officials would plan for more rain later this week.
"We are working under the assumption we will get heavy rainfall later in the week," Lynch said.
The National Weather Service rated the chance of showers at 50 percent to 70 percent through Friday. Lynch said officials would assess the condition of roadways and the Warren Lake Dam in Alstead assuming there would be 5 more inches of rainfall.
Damage from the flooding was considered the worst in Alstead, where entire houses were washed away, telephone poles downed and roads collapsed into the Cold River and Warren Brook. Water continued to flow over the Warren Lake Dam on Monday morning but officials said the dam itself remained intact.
The Alstead Fire and Police Departments worked with dozens of emergency response agencies from around the state to provide traffic control, repair roads and bridges and search for missing persons throughout the area.
Three people were confirmed dead and 14 were reported missing as of yesterday afternoon, Lt. Todd Bogardus of New Hampshire Fish and Game said. The numbers of missing fluctuated throughout the day as people who heard press reports of their disappearance notified police of their whereabouts while new names were added to search party lists.
Verizon said 911 emergency phone service was restored, but the company said about 55 to 60 utility poles were either broken or downed along Route 123 in Alstead, taking electric and telephone service with them.
Communication between the multiple state and local agencies was running as smoothly as could be expected, Alstead Police Chief Christopher Lyons said, but added closed roads and bridges made coordinating policing efforts difficult.
Lyons said it took him 45 minutes to drive from the police station in downtown Alstead to the East Alstead Fire Station, usually an eight minute trip.
"There's no easy way to get there from here," Lyons said.
New Hampshire National Guardsmen helped local and state police staff those stations as the Sheriff's Department handled patrol and traffic control. Although most residents were cooperative, police received two calls of looting near homes along the river banks of River Road.
"It's still a concern," Lt. Jerome Maslan of New Hampshire State Police said. "Not only are they taking belongings, but the edge of the river is still treacherous and that's where it's happening."
About 1,000 people were evacuated throughout the region and Lyons said he visited between 20 and 30 houses in Alstead. Although a few resisted, most residents complied with the emergency evacuation efforts, Lyons said.
"Some people were very gracious," Lyons said. "Some even said we saved their life."
Red Cross and Salvation Army volunteers provided food and relief to residents. Although a shelter was set up in the Alstead Fire Station, most displaced residents found lodging with family and friends.
Jan Howe, the minister at the Third Congregational Church along River Road, passed out sandwiches and helped put people in touch with loved ones as she watched the cleanup efforts across the street.
Howe said she spoke with five families who were left homeless from the flooding, and many more whose homes sustained significant damage. Fortunately, she said all of them found places to stay.
"It's neighbor helping neighbor," Howe said. "We're just trying to offer prayers and support and match people up with others that need help."
Marlene and Leroy Wade, both 72, were two of the people who found themselves homeless. Not long after they were evacuated around 6 a.m. on Sunday morning, Marlene said they learned their home of 51 years collapsed into the Cold River. All that was left was a handicap ramp and small statue upon which was engraved a testament of her religious faith - "The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of God stands forever."
Standing in what was left of her front lawn, Marlene Wade comforted her daughter and refused to dwell on the loss. She said she was thankful her son and grandchildren down the road were able to make it to safety with their pets and the clothes on their backs.
"What am I going to do, cry all day?" she said. "Who's going to wipe the tears?"