Leominster’s mayor said Wednesday that some of the larger damage caused by Monday night’s flash flooding will take weeks, not days to fix.
“A whole lot of work has been done in a couple of days,” Leominster mayor Dean Mazzarella said at a press conference on Wednesday.
However, he said some of the most severely damaged areas could take weeks to get fully fixed.
“We’re trying our hardest to at least get most roads open, at least one lane,” Mazzarella said.
“The good thing is everyone is safe and we’re happy for that,” Mazzarella said. The mayor said people who were located in a shelter will be relocated to hotels.
School will reopen in Leominster on Thursday, but operate on a delay.
“The safest place right now is for kids to be in schools,” Mazzarella said. “We’re going to have extra people power [Thursday] to navigate around the city and help the school busses.”
Monday’s deluge dumped at least 9 inches of rain on Leominster, which washed out roadways, formed sinkholes and sent floodwaters into buildings. In the wake of the flooding, officials were concerned about two dams, several damaged structures and MBTA Commuter Rail tracks that were left dangling in mid-air.
Mazzarella said the early estimation for infrastructure repair costs is anywhere from $25 to $40 million. “That’s just city infrastructure,” Mazzarella said. “We’re trying to work on what assistance we can get to our businesses and our homeowners. Homeowners are finding out that in many cases they’re not covered with insurance. And so we we’re trying to help them out.”
The city said a relief fund has been setup to support the residents affected by the flood.
To donate to the Leominster Relief Fund, send a check made out to the LEOMINSTER RELIEF FUND or stop by the mayor’s office at 25 West Street to donate by cash or check.
