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See photos and video of extensive damage from flooding in Leominster and surrounding areas

By Kenneth Singletary and Shannon Larson Globe Staff,Updated September 13, 2023, 4:52 a.m.
Torrential rain causes extensive flooding, damage in Leominster
The central Massachusetts town was hit with torrential rain Monday evening, causing extensive damage.

Torrential rain brought severe flash flooding to several communities in central Massachusetts Monday evening, causing extensive damage and evacuations.

In Leominster, which received a stunning 11 inches of rain in a matter of hours, Mayor Dean Mazzarella called the situation “catastrophic.”

The flooding washed out roads, inundated homes and businesses, and forced residents to evacuate their homes and stay in shelters.

Photos and videos of the aftermath showed sinkholes that had swallowed vehicles, torrents of water rushing onto streets, a breach at a dam at Leominster’s Barrett Park, where area residents were urged Tuesday morning to evacuate, and shocked residents taking it all in.

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See photos and video below.

A car is stranded in a driveway damaged by floodwaters.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
People stopped to look at Tilton & Cook Consignment & Shoppes which partially collapsed due to flooding in Leominster. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Neighbors embrace as they greet each other in front of flood damage on Lancaster St in Leominster.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
People make their way into a home that was damaged by flooding to retrieve items from it on Lancaster St in Leominster.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Workers removed a telephone pole from a section of MBTA tracks where the pavement had washed out underneath them after a sinkhole opened up in Leominster.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Oscar Perez, crew chief with J. Brian Day Emergency Services, pushes water out of the flood damaged Citi Trends clothing store at the Branch Avenue Plaza Shopping Center on Branch Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island.Matthew Healey for The Boston Globe
A pair of women’s sandals in the mud following flooding and reports of looting at the Branch Avenue Plaza Shopping Center on Branch Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island.Matthew Healey for The Boston Globe
People gathered to look at a sinkhole that swallowed vehicles at a Cadillac dealership in Leominster.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A car was covered in debris outside of a home on Hamilton Street in Leominster.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Rose Adu and her son Nereus Adu examined the torrent of water that washed out the intersection of Pleasant and Colburn Streets in Leominster.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Sand blocked the front entrance of a home in Leominster.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
A man looked at a breach in the Barrett Park dam in Leominster.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Employees watch from inside the showroom at a Cadillac dealership in Leominster as workers use a crane to lift cars from a sinkhole.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff



Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.

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