Somerville city officials outline '25-year flood' response

(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.