Rare Flooding Forces Evacuations in New England

Flooding on a scale rarely seen in New England forced hundreds of residents from their homes Wednesday, overwhelmed sewage systems and snarled traffic as major East Coast routes washed out or transformed into a soaked labyrinth of detours and closures.

As three days of record-breaking rains tapered to a drizzle, forecasters warned the worst of widespread flooding from Maine to Connecticut was still ahead as rivers and streams had yet to crest - for the second time in a month.

In Rhode Island, which bore the brunt of the storm, residents were experiencing the worst flooding in more than 100 years. Stretches of Interstate 95, the main route linking Boston to New York, were closed and could remain so for days.

"I have absolutely no idea how we're going to pay for this. I'm extremely, extremely worried. Do you know how much a new furnace costs? We're just praying to God for some help."

The flooding caps a month that set rainfall records across the region. Boston measured nearly 14 inches for March, breaking the previous record for the month, set in 1953. New Jersey, New York City and Portland, Maine, surpassed similar records. Providence registered its rainiest month on record, period, with a total of more than 15 inches of rain in March.

"None of us alive have seen the flooding that we are experiencing now or going to experience," Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri said. "This is unprecedented in our state's history."

President Barack Obama issued an emergency declaration late Tuesday for Rhode Island, ordering federal aid for disaster relief and authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts.