Evacuation In Leominster Near Dam, Flooding Swallows Homes, Cadillac Dealership

LEOMINSTER, MA — State officials ordered the evacuation of a portion of Leominster early Tuesday morning due to concerns about a dam, which is just one part of an ongoing disaster in northern Worcester County following a rainstorm Monday that dropped up to 9 inches in just a few hours.

Tuesday's evacuation included the area around the Barrett Park Pond Dam west of the downtown Leominster area. But the devastation wasn't limited to the Barrett Park dam. Leominster was still under a flood emergency Tuesday morning, a rare type of emergency called by the National Weather Service.

The evacuation request followed the collapse Monday night of the Brooks Pond dam just west of Route 12.

Monday's rains caused multiple sinkholes to open in Leominster, including one that swallowed cars at the Durand Cadillac dealership. Firefighters from Leominster and surrounding towns worked through the night to rescue people stranded in homes, included in the Meadowbrook Acres area. A portion of Pleasant Street washed away in flooding, and eroded the foundation of at least one home along the street.

Gov. Maura Healey was set to tour the damage in Leominster on Tuesday afternoon following a stop in similarly flood-ravaged North Attleborough.

During Monday's rush hour, Route 2 was closed in both directions near the Fitchburg-Leominster line as rain inundated the roadway, trapping drivers and causing long lines of traffic. MassDOT had reopened both sides of the highway by late Monday night.

The flooding also damaged the MBTA Fitchburg railroad infrastructure. The MBTA was only running commuter rail trains to the Shirley station on Tuesday, with buses taking over from there.

Other parts of the region saw serious flooding on Monday due to isolated pockets of heavy rain. Officials declared a state of emergency in the North Attleborough area, opening an emergency shelter at a local middle school. About a dozen homes were flooded during the storm, according to the North Attleborough Fire Department.

Images from Providence show water cascading down streets and swamping highways. A portion of I-291 and the Mass Pike were also closed due to flooding Monday night in the Chicopee and Springfield areas.

Only light rain was expected to fall on Tuesday, but heavier storms were expected to return to Massachusetts by Wednesday morning. Worcester County may bear the brunt of the storms, according to forecasts.