Rhode Island Marks 11th Anniversary Of 'Great March Flood'

PROVIDENCE, RI — It's been more than a decade since Rhode Island was hit with what forecaster called the storm of the century — a deluge of rain that made the name "the Ocean State" hit a little too close to home for many residents.

From March 29 to 31, 2010, as much as 10 inches of rain fell across the state, following about five weeks of moderate-to-heavy rain that left Rhode Island vulnerable to flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

And flood it did.

Rivers across Rhode Island reached record levels, such as the Pawcatuck River in Westerly, which crested higher than the storm surge from the hurricane of 1938. The Warwick Mall was under more than two feet of water, while Interstate 95 had to be closed in Cranston and at the Airport Connector due to flooding.

Of the state's 19 major wastewater treatment plants, several were severely impacted by the floods, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management said. West Warwick and Warwick were "completely inundated," while Bristol, Cranston and Westerly were all partially flooded.

"Wastewater treatment crews fought valiantly to keep these utilities operational for the public and went above and beyond to mitigate severe environmental impacts as overflowing rivers overtook facilities," the department said. "This event taught profound lessons about our vulnerabilities but also about the spirit and ingenuity of Rhode Islanders."

Firsthand accounts of the floods from the wastewater operators themselves are available on the department's website.

Over the multi-day event, just one indirect death was reported, the NWS said. An off-duty state trooper died in West Greenwich after his car hydroplaned, crashing into a tree.

Personal experience

The photos you see at the top of this article are from my parents' house in southern Rhode Island. A high school freshman at the time, I knew something major was happening when my mom drove my sister and I down to the bus stop in the driving rain, only for the bus to never arrive. Even though we both had midterms scheduled that day, mom turned around and called the school to say we wouldn't be going in that day.

That decision turned out to be a smart one. Friends who managed to make it into school later told horror stories about how the National Guard was called in to help evacuate students from the school, which became an island amid the surrounding fields, and of hours-long bus rides try to get to and from school in one piece.

Back at home, my family was in crisis mode. As the rain fell hard and steady, we raced against the clock to clear out our quickly flooding basement, trying to stem the tide of the water coursing in down the stairs like a waterfall. My job was to clear out the crawl space, tossing Christmas decorations and boxes of elementary school artwork up the trapdoor as quickly as possible as the water seeped up through the sand floor, sucking my boots into an icy mire.

By the time the rain stopped, we'd measured 16 inches of water in our basement. Slightly damp boxes filled the upper floors, prompting an unexpected decluttering effort that would take several weeks to accomplish. The septic system was perilously close to flooding the backyard, leaving showers out of the question for several days.

Patch wants to hear from you. Share your flood stories and photos by emailing Rachel.Nunes@patch.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming story.

Major disaster declaration

The flooding prompted a statewide Major Disaster Declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than 26,000 Rhode Islanders applied for financial assistance, leading to $79 million in disaster assistance for both individual residents and business owners.

The Great Flood was the worst flooding event in the state in a generation. More than half a century earlier, the state was devastated by three major weather events in close succession: Hurricane Carol in 1954, followed by the double whammy of tropical storms Connie and Diane in 1955.