DEERFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – Western Massachusetts saw yet another round of severe weather on Friday afternoon. With some parts of Franklin County getting upwards of six inches of rain.
Western Mass News was in Deerfield earlier this afternoon and we spoke with residents who told us the last thing the area needed today was more rain, but that’s exactly what they got.
“I have not seen devastation like this,” said Kevin Scarborough.
“Today it was a lot all at once,” added Emily Johnson of Deerfield.
Flash floods hit Deerfield and other communities in Franklin County Friday afternoon bringing even more rain to an area already devastated by flooding last week, leaving many roadways closed and underwater for the second time in just over a week.
Officials told us some roads saw water more than 19 feet deep.
Kevin Scarborough is the highway superintendent at the Deerfield Public Works, he said he’s been non-stop since the storm.
“Multiple places we have in town where roads are closed,” explained Scarborough. “And what’s killing me it’s a lot of roads I just finished paving.”
When it comes to clean-up, DPW crews face a long and costly road ahead.
“We’ve got, ballpark guess off the top of my head, probably $2.5 to 3 million worth of damage,” noted Scarborough.
Scarborough said there’s no shortage of roads closed because they’re missing large sections of pavement.
“Literally I’m looking to get in trying to bring in dump trailers full of rock to try to fill up where the road used to be,” added Scarborough.
It’s not just roadways that were damaged Friday…
“We had water in the basement today which I was surprised by,” said Charles La Liberty of South Deerfield. “We’ve had it happen once or twice in December but never in the summer.”
South Deerfield resident Charles La Liberty said while they were spared from any damage last week, this week was a different story.
“I’ve never seen anything like it actually,” expressed Liberty. “There’s yards I’ve never seen flooded near us, by our house on the corner. A lot of wash outs”
Scarborough told us it could take up to six to eight weeks before the roads look normal again in Deerfield.
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