Dozens of residents of a mobile home park in Keene were forced to evacuate their homes last night amid flooding concerns.


“I think this is the third time, those poor folks,” said Curtis Metzger, a public information officer for state emergency operations in Concord.

About 93 residents of lower lying areas of Tanglewood mobile home park were asked to head again to a Red Cross shelter at Keene Recreation Center.

They were also forced to leave during flooding Oct. 9, and on Friday, when the area was evacuated as a precaution.

Ron Chase of Topsham, Maine, kayaks down the Contoocook River in Hillsborough yesterday. (AP)
Last night’s evacuation was called as the Army Corps of Engineers planned a controlled release of water at Surry Dam this morning, said Metzger. A few homes in the lower part of Hinsdale were also evacuated, along with some areas of Harper Acres.

But, the nine-day torrent of rain subsided yesterday, replaced instead by strong, menacing winds.

And while several rivers were overflowing and many homes were temporarily without power yesterday, forecasters predicted the sun would finally start to shine over New Hampshire’s weather-weary counties.

Tracy McCormick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., said southern New Hampshire can expect partly cloudy — that is, partly sunny — skies through Saturday. There may be some rain, but, McCormick said, “nothing like we’ve seen over the past week.”

That goes for Cheshire County, which bore the brunt of this month’s deadly flooding. Three people were killed in that storm, and four were presumed dead. Yesterday’s high winds canceled the search for their remains, according to Jim Van Dongen, a spokesman for the state Emergency Management Office.

The weather did seem to improve yesterday. Most flood warnings were dropped and emergency shelters were shut down. Still, some people weren’t taking any chances, leaving behind taped, handwritten notes on their homes saying where they could be reached.

Metzger said authorities were keeping an eye on the North County, where the rain had moved to.

The Contoocook River in Henniker in central New Hampshire was nearing 14 feet yesterday morning; flood stage is 12 feet. But Fire Chief Keith Gilbert said he didn’t think there would be any major flooding.

“All occupants are safely gone from this home,” said one note on a door at the River Meadow condominium complex near the river. “To the thieves: Please pick up after yourselves,” the writer added in parentheses.

People should “continue to keep an eye out the window,” Gilbert said. “Essentially, the river is coming up, but it’s coming up at a fairly slow pace. As long as they’re up and awake and keeping an eye on it, I don’t think it’s any problem for residents to stay home.”

The National Weather Service reported minor flooding along the Warner River in Davisville and predicted similarly light flooding for the Connecticut River near Dalton.

In Bradford, water levels at Lake Todd reached their peak Saturday night but did not approach critical levels, according to David Paine, who oversees the dam for the Lake Todd Village District. The waterline was beginning to approach its normal level yesterday afternoon.

“Everything’s looking good here,” Paine said.

Meteorologists said the ground was loose and muddy all around the state, making it likely that yesterday’s heavy winds, which included gusts of up to 50 mph, would push over trees and cause some power outages. A high-wind advisory was dropped by mid-afternoon.

As many as 2,500 Public Service of New Hampshire customers lost power yesterday, mostly in the western part of the state and the Lakes Region, according to company spokesman Ian Wilson. The vast majority of customers were back online by 6 p.m., he said.

In Hillsborough, just south of Henniker, a road leading into town was washed out.

Hillsborough firefighters kept watch over a riverside house surrounded by a moat and sandbags. The elderly couple inside had not left, despite the flooding.

At the Edgewater Farm Stand in Hillsborough, owner Debbie Jones watched her pumpkins bobbing in 2 to 3 feet of water. She had planned to close shop after Sunday, her last day of the season.

The High Tide Take Out, which offers seafood and chicken, also was flooded.

Down the road, Joyce Murphy was cheerful, even though her backyard and basement were flooded.

“We’re luckier than those people in Alstead,” she said.

Van Dongen said in addition to the Contoocook River, officials were watching the rising levels of the Pemigewasset, Saco, Connecticut and Warner rivers.

“They’re predicted to reach and go over flood stage and that will cause some flooding, but not the catastrophic kind that we saw last weekend,” he said.