US states hit by worst floods in 70 years

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Weather is related to sickness

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16 th May 2006

BOSTON - The worst flooding in 70 years in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire forced thousands of people from their homes today after the heaviest rainfall in a decade.

Residents waded through waist-high water on washed out roads, some paddling to swamped homes in canoes, and meteorologists predicted more rain tomorrow in all three New England states, which have declared states of emergency.

"I've never seen flooding like this before," said Faustino Melo, 40, a resident in the hard-hit Massachusetts city of Peabody, a suburb north of Boston whose downtown streets were submerged with floodwaters that rose as high as door handles.

Emergency crews steered boats along streets to help evacuate people, while National Guard soldiers set up checkpoints to block off roads. About 200,000 sand bags were used to hold back overflowing rivers across Massachusetts.

About 30 to 38 cm of rain has fallen since Friday, swelling the Merrimack River that runs through southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts more than 2.4 metres above flood stage -- its highest since 1936.