By Nicholas Brown
and Joseph Edgerton
Staff Writers

While the worst of the recent deluge may have affected the western portion of the state, emergency management and public safety officials had a long weekend locally, even aiding with some voluntary evacuations.

Hooksett
By the evening of Oct. 16, a section of Lambert's Park was entirely submerged as the Merrimack River overflowed into parts of Hooksett.

Visitors streamed in and out of the area on Sunday as the rain died down, snapping photos of the tops of signs that peeked above the water and of trees that had been carried away by the rapid current.

Lambert's Park, off Hooksett's Merrimack Street, was partially submerged after the recent storms. Flooding reached its height over the weekend of Oct. 15 to 16, causing volunteer evacuations in some local towns, including Epsom and Allenstown. (Nicholas Brown Photo)

Hooksett Emergency Management Director Al Dionne said Lambert's Park may have suffered the worst flooding in town, though several area residences were soaked. The park will remain closed throughout the week, said Dionne, as state officials are expected to assess the damage.

Dionne said parts of Hackett Hill Road and Bullard Drive flooded due to blocked storm drains, which were eventually unplugged by Hooksett Highway Department workers.

Aside from some flooded basements and the occasional blocked road, the floods were relatively mild and no known injuries or deaths have resulted.

Allenstown
Deputy Fire Chief Robert Martin and Police Chief James McGonigle said the flood danger in Allenstown was relatively minor in comparison to the rest of the state, but the potential for danger was there.

"Three main areas were voluntarily evacuated: Brookside Terrace to the mobile home park, Riverside Park and Albin Avenue," Martin said. "The majority of people did evacuate and went to stay at the shelter or with relatives. I wasn't out there myself, but the evacuations were orderly and people were compliant."

"Compared to what else is going on in the state, there's not much of a story," said McGonigle.

"The last time the water was this high was in 1998." Emergency services went door to door, warning residents of the possibility of evacuations.

Martin said once the Pittsfield Dam was opened, an additional two to three feet of floodwaters were expected.

"Most of the evacuations took place on Saturday night from 8:30 to midnight," Martin said. "If people decided to stay, we would check in on them. There was no damage to roads, and we were lucky. But the potential was there."

Epsom
Center Hill Road residents were the subject of a voluntary evacuation on Oct. 15. Emergency management officials said everyone who evacuated - finding temporary refuge at the fire station - had returned to their homes by Saturday night, as flood waters began to subside.