Somerville city officials outline ’25-year flood’ response

On July 15, 2010, in Uncategorized, by The News Staff

(Taped by Vaughn Simkins outside the SCAT building)

By Tom Nash

Somerville
officials outlined the city's response to last Saturday's flash
flooding on Wednesday, beginning with Mayor Joseph Curtatone noting the
storm was an anomaly that overwhelmed the city's infastructure.

"This
is a 25-year storm occurring in one hour," Curtatone said of the 3.5
inches of rain that overwhelmed streets and homes throughout the city.
"You could tell based on the forecasts of this storm [that] it was
different."

At a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen
Wednesday night, Curtatone shared dramatic footage of residents coping
with the storm shot by Somerville Community Access Television at its
Union Square headquarters, one of the areas hardest hit by flooding.

The
city estimates that more than 3,000 properties residential and business
have been affected, and that more than $10 million in damage has been
sustained.

The public safety building in Union Square is still
being evaluated after sustaining the heaviest damage of any city-owned
property. Eight police cruisers, eight motorcycles, and one Segway have
been listed as totaled.

Curatone said the city will be spending $244,000 on replacing the cruisers and $79,000 to replace the motorcycles by next month.

Asked
by Ward 5 Alderman Sean O'Donovan if the state's Emergency Management
Agency responded on Saturday, Curtatone said he's focused on making
sure the relevant state and federal agencies are providing assistance
now.

"Our goal is not pointing blame to anyone, but to make sure
it doesn't happen again," Curtatone said. "I've expressed my
frustration that MEMA had not been on the scene."

Responding to
complaints from residents about flooded homes, DPW Commissioner Stan
Koty said he doubted that the flooding issues were the result of sewer
problems. He said the 3.5 inches of rain the city received in an hour
was unprecedented.

"It's a phenomenon that hasn't been seen," Koty said.

Ward
1 Alderman Bill Roche challenged the assertion that Saturday's flooding
was out of the norm for his ward's residents, many of whom he said
struggled with flooding on the same scale in 1996 and 2004.

"For
the people and businesses of Ward 1, this is not a 25-year storm,"
Roche said. "It's almost routine. We need to make sure this doesn't
happen again."

A brochure written in four languages explaining
insurance claim steps and clean-up methods is expected to be
distributed to homes affected by the storm beginning today.

To view the city's presentation on its flood response, Click here .