The words of Lowell Housing Authority Board Chair Phil Shea succinctly describe the instinctive rescue and relocation efforts of several city departments, a state agency, plus the Red Cross and Salvation Army among others, in response to the massive flooding in Lowell’s Acre neighborhood Monday afternoon.
But as Shea explained, “It was an instant response. A lot of people pitched in. We came together to take care of people.”
A major water main burst just before 3:30 p.m., spewing thousands of gallons of water into several streets behind the JFK Civic Center, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Deputy Lowell Fire Chief Bob Destrempe said firefighters were forced to evacuate residents of four single-family homes on Race Street due to flooded basements.
In one of those Race Street residences, Julee Sok recounted the terrifying moments when water started pouring into the first floor of her two-story home.
“My son said, ‘Mom, the water is coming in!’ I told him, ‘Hurry! Move your grandmother to the second floor!’”
With their home currently uninhabitable, the family — Sok, husband Phillip Luy, 22-year-old son Peter, a sister-in-law and Sok’s 88-year-old mother — now moves between the Senior Center on Broadway Street for a warm meal, heat, charging electronics like phones, and the houses of area friends.
But by far the most demanding evacuation occurred at the Lowell Housing Authority’s City View Towers, located at 657 Merrimack St., which houses nearly 200 senior residents and those with disabilities. Rising water damaged the building's heating and electricity systems.
Called to the scene, National Grid shut off all power, which forced the decision to clear the building.
Destrempe said firefighter crews went to each floor to help all the residents, which included those who were unable to walk themselves out of the eight-story structure.
“Extensive manpower was needed for this operation,” Destrempe said. “Everybody got out safe. Nobody got hurt. Everybody has been calm and it’s been very orderly.”
About 85 residents impacted by the break were staying at the Senior Center, City Manager Tom Golden said Tuesday morning. It’s unclear how long affected residents will be displaced.
LHA Assistant Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer Adam Garvey called the City View Towers situation “heartbreaking.”
“Our main priority now is for the comfort and safety of our residents,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “We evacuated the 189-unit building last night, and approximately 90 of the 195 residents spent the night at the Senior Center on Broadway Street, where they were briefed, fed and spent the night. The other residents went to homes of friends and family.”
Given the extensive below-grade flooding the building sustained, residents won’t be returning to their units any time soon.
“We had substantial damage to all of our mechanical and electrical systems and the two brand-new boilers down in the basement — possibly to the point of full replacement,” Garvey said. “That’s going to take some time to repair, especially with the supply chain issues that we’re all dealing with.”
He said arrangements were being made with area hotels to move the residents out of the Senior Center until occupancy is determined.
Fire Chief Phillip Charron said firefighters, along with emergency management, were overseeing the sheltering of Towers residents. He said they were starting to look into short-term housing and addressing their basic needs: food, places to sleep, toiletry items and “financial services.”
Charron indicated the department’s also working with the Lowell Housing Authority, hoping to utilize state resources to provide possible housing. It’s an ongoing process, as they work to assess what residents’ needs are, Charron said.
We have a major state resource in our midst, UMass Lowell, which has increased its footprint in the upper Merrimack Street area recently. Surely the university can lend some assistance with temporary housing for those displaced by the flooding.
Christian Cunnie, public information program supervisor at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said the organization “provided on-scene support” with the evacuation and sheltering Monday night, as well as providing a list of non-governmental groups that can provide assistance and get residents “back on their feet.”
“MEMA is willing to support the city as long as this takes,” Cunnie said.
We’d like to thank the many first responders who managed this crisis in an orderly, professional manner, by keeping calm in the midst of chaos.
As Manager Golden said: “When there’s an issue, our community is coming together and we’re solving it.”
With the displacement of so many individuals — many of them vulnerable due to age or medical condition — there are still many problems to solve.
©2022 The Sun, Lowell, Mass. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
