As part of those preparations, the Northampton Fire Department has stationed an engine at the Oxbow Marina at the end of Island Road in case flood waters cut off that section from the rest of the city. The Department of Public Works also has provided residents along Island Road, where flood water covers several backyards, with sand and sand bags to protect foundations if necessary. Police and fire crews have inspected propane tanks there to make sure they are properly secured and will not float away if water levels rise. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at the Florence Civic Center in case residents living on Island Road and Ferry Avenue must be evacuated. On a tour of the Oxbow and the city's other flood-prone areas this morning, Deputy Fire Chief Timothy McQueston visited barriers erected along roads leading into the flooded Meadows section of the city.
People come out with their vehicles and try to drive through the water.
A home at the corner of Route 5 and Island Road has water within inches of its foundation, and a shed on the property is half under water. A car trudges through water covering a portion of River Road in South Hadley Tuesday. Barriers have been set up along River Road warning motorists to proceed with caution. Elsewhere, barriers have been set up along River Road in South Hadley, warning motorists to proceed with caution because of flooding there. If the river level rises more, the DPW will close the road and residents will have to take a road cut through some conservation land.