Flood recovery could take months in Rhode Island

CNN: …A rainstorm soaked the Northeast on Tuesday, worsening the effects of another major storm from two weeks ago. Rhode Island appeared to have fared the worst. The storm dumped 8.75 inches of rain in East Providence, 7.6 inches in downtown Providence and 5 inches in Cranston, said Tom Econopouly of the Northeast River Forecast Center in Massachusetts.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will visit Rhode Island on Friday to inspect flood damage and meet with state and local leaders to discuss response and recovery efforts. President Obama has made an emergency declaration for Rhode Island, which ordered federal aid to help state and local response efforts. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials also are supporting state and local responders.

The Pawtuxet River, which runs through Cranston, crested at 20.79 feet Wednesday, nearly 12 feet above flood stage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The water level has started a slow decline. "Pawtuxet River is now falling. ... It will remain in major flood status until about midday on Friday," the National Weather Service said. The river isn't likely to fall below flood stage until Sunday.

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said his city was facing "dire circumstances." Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian told CNN's "American Morning" that officials are trying to make sewer authority pumping stations operational so people can start using the water system again. Avedisian said the Pawtuxet River isn't "receding as quickly as we would have envisioned. So we're having water problems in areas that traditionally have never had problems before."

Some thoroughfares have been closed, and Avedisian said the state is assessing infrastructure and helping businesses relocate and reopen as soon as possible. Dan Neal, 25, a freelance writer and college student from Cranston, said that many basements have been flooded, destroying people's possessions, and he believes many homes and businesses will have to be razed because they've been so badly damaged….

In a dryer moment, the Pawtuxet River at Pontiac, a village of Warwick, Rhode Island, shot by Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger), Wikimedia Commons