KEENE, NH – It was a sight familiar to those across the Monadnock Region in parts of Massachusetts Monday evening as heavy rain pummeled part of the state leaving historic flooding, road damage, and other destruction behind.

Leominster, a city in northern/central Massachusetts about 40 miles northwest of Boston and about an hour drive south of Keene, took the brunt of the storm as it sat over the city for hours.

Leominster’s Mayor Dean Mazzarella declared a state of emergency and urged people not to venture outside as roads flooded, but some residents were evacuated as water came into their basements. All schools were closed Tuesday, and two emergency shelters were set up.

“The storm stopped over us last night,” Mazzarella said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “It didn’t move for close to five hours.”

The National Weather Service has confirmed that about 9.5 inches of rain fell in total in the city.

“It’s been a very emotional roller coaster for many,” Leominster Schools Superintendent Paula Deacon told the Associated Press outside the shelter, where at least 80 people had stayed overnight. “They don’t know what happened to their homes, many of them left with nothing, so they’re anxious to get back to see the conditions of where they live, talk to people they care about,” she said.

Photos plastered across social media showed major flooding throughout the area, including on Route 2 and Route 12, with some having to abandon their cars as flood waters continued to rise. A section of Route 2 was closed overnight and reopened at about 6:15 Tuesday morning. A sinkhole also opened up on Pleasant Street, the Brooks Pond Dam reportedly collapsed, and a partial warehouse building collapse was reported at an indoor flea market on Spruce Street, which was closed at the time.

Crews work on a section of Pleasant Street in Leominster, Mass., which was washed out Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, after heavy rain fall in the town overnight. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Mazzarella was concerned about a reservoir off Exchange Street overflowing so residents in that area were evacuated as well, along with residents near Barret Park Dam as a precaution.

“This particular dam is one that we’re actually about to replace, and it is very sensitive,” Mazzarella said at the news conference.  “It is water-saturated, and we worry about that downstream.”

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said earlier that emergency boat rescue and response teams were in the city.

“My heart goes out to residents and public safety officials in Leominster and other communities experiencing catastrophic flooding tonight,” she posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Elsewhere in the Bay State, Fitchburg saw a total of 5.1 inches of rain, and Worcester about 2.5 inches. Some flooding was reported in the Granite State as well in Nashua.

A flood warning remains in effect for the Nashua River as minor flooding is a possibility if the river continues to rise. The area is expected to see more rain tomorrow, but it won’t be like the deluge Monday night.

Local Meteorologist David Coe estimates this historic rainfall was a 500-year event, meaning that there is a 0.2% chance of this much rain happening every year.

Closer to home, it appears that the town of Winchendon, just over the state border from Fitzwilliam and Rindge, was spared from any significant accumulating rainfall.

Numerous road closures remain in effect, mostly within the city of Leominster, but drivers who are heading through the area or were planning a trip to somewhere such as Boston today should be alert and follow the instructions of first responders.