By Bella Osgood
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEWPORT — As a result of heavy rainstorms that started over the weekend and continued into Monday, Newport experienced flooding throughout town on Monday. While it is not unusual for some Newport areas to experience flooding after heavy rain, such as the Shaw’s Plaza and Horsey Park, this particular storm caused additional road closures and damage.
On Main Street, Village Pizza experienced flooding in the building’s basement and some Newport residents said that they had to move their cars from the restaurant’s parking spaces due to rising water levels.
John Stark Highway was completely closed off in some sections and the Newport Health Center closed for the night.
On Tuesday afternoon, the emergency restoration service “ServiceMaster Restore” was hired by Shaw’s to address flood damage.
Locations such as Pine Street and Belknap Avenue experienced similar flooding problems and detours. Horsey Park became more of a lake, as the river overflowed its banks along the lower fields.
Newport Fire Chief Steven Yannuzzi said that both the fire and police departments directed traffic and closed or maintained roads on Monday night. The Fire Department was busy pumping water out of Newport residents’ basements on Tuesday morning.
Yannuzzi advised the public to not drive through any deep water or on roads that are closed.
“Do not move traffic cones in order to drive down a road,” he said. “They are there for a reason. With rain in the forecast for later this week and weekend, this is good advice to keep in mind.
As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, the most serious street flooding had receded, allowing the town to reopen the affected roads.
Sunapee flooding
The rain also caused problems in the nearby Town of Sunapee. The town’s Fire, Highway, Police and Water and Sewer departments were kept busy Monday as rain flooded basements and caused hazardous road conditions.
The storm closed Bradford Road and Lower Main Street and caused shoulder and road erosion on Hell’s Corner Road, Trask Brook Road and Jobs Creek Road, according to the town.
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