Driver Miraculously Survives Flash Flood in Springfield as Land Turns into an Ocean –

SPRINGFIELD — It was raining hard when Kristine Allard left work at Square One in downtown Springfield, heading home to Wilbraham.

As she drove Page Boulevard, pounding rain cut visibility. She wasn’t too concerned — until she saw rushing water bearing down on her car.

“Honestly, it looked like waves, something you’d see at the beach,” she said.

Allard felt helpless. She knows it’s not safe to drive through standing water, but amid rush-hour traffic, she had what felt like a split second, and no good way to avoid it.

“There was traffic on both sides of me and traffic behind me. I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t pull off,” she said. “There was no option to not get caught up in without causing an accident.”

When she hit the deepest water, her car conked out. She was then stuck for about two hours until her car was towed.

Before the road was shut down, cars and trucks whizzed around her disabled car as she sat trapped inside.

“It was scary,” she said. “I don’t know how I didn’t end up getting hit.”

Several inches of rain fell on parts of Hampden County Monday night. The National Weather Service received reports of nearly 3 inches in Ludlow, 2.7 inches in Springfield and about 2 inches in Westfield.

Allard was far from the only one with a flooded car Monday in Springfield. About a dozen vehicles got stuck amid flash flooding Monday evening, according to Ryan Walsh, public information officer for the Springfield Police. No injuries were reported, he said.

Allard is not yet sure what will happen to her car, but she’s grateful she’s not injured. “It really could have been a whole lot worse,” she said.

On Monday night, Springfield Police responded to a flurry of calls about flooding and police temporarily closed roads, Walsh said.

“It happened so quickly,” he said. “It was kind of during rush hour. The timing wasn’t great … it was a busy four-hour stretch.”

By Monday evening, police were able to re-open all the roads, Walsh said.

In Chicopee, some roads were also closed Monday night. By late evening, water had receded and all streets were re-opened, said Chicopee Police Public Information Officer Travis Odiorne.

The storm left damage though, like a large hole in the sidewalk near Broadway Street and St. James Avenue. Underground pipes were visible in the hole and several workers were gathered around it Tuesday morning.

“The sidewalk collapsed onto a gas main,” said Elizabette Batista, Chicopee’s Department of Public Works superintendent. “That was the only major event we had happen in Chicopee last night.”

Batista said the city saw major road flooding on certain roads, but did not have a list of routes most affected.

“The pipes are sized for a certain volume of water, so when the heavy rains were coming down, there was some flooding,” she said. “Shortly after, the rain subsided and flooding dispersed.”

According to the Massachusetts State Police, there were “significant traffic backups” on Interstate 90 at the Exit 51 off-ramp in Chicopee.

“At around 6:35 p.m., [the exit] was shut down to east and westbound traffic,” Thomas Doherty, state police trooper, said.

Around the same time, Doherty said “some portions of I-291 had to be closed” due to flooding as well.

All roads in the area were reopened shortly after 9 p.m.

Springfield’s director of public works could not be immediately reached for comment.

Some areas across Hampden County did not report major problems. West Springfield Police did not respond to any problems related to flooding Monday, said Sgt. Joseph LaFrance. Westfield Police also didn’t get calls related to heavy rain, Sgt. Seth Florek said.

Other parts of the state were hit much harder Monday. In Leominster, flooding forced residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, closed schools Tuesday and seriously damaged roads Monday night, even creating a sinkhole in one street.