MANCHESTER – Gov. John Lynch declared a state of emergency yesterday after torrential rainfall throughout most of New Hampshire forced evacuations and washed out roads.

Gov. John Lynch, left, hears the concerns of residents in Hooksett yesterday. Residents Eric Paquette, front left, Claire Paquette, front right, and Kerry Paquette, had to leave their house earlier when their home was condemned due to flood damage. (AP)

National Guard troops were activated to assist in emergency efforts. Flood warnings were posted and the state was closely monitoring a dozen stretched dams.

"It's a very serious situation," Lynch said, noting forecasters were predicting 12 to 15 inches of rain in parts of southern New Hampshire by the end of the storm.

"It continues to change and the situation continues to worsen," Lynch said.

The Merrimack River crested in Manchester this morning and began what forecasters think will be a very slow retreat. Nashua and the Merrimack Valley cities of Massachusetts have not yet seen the river's worst. Major flooding is forecast in Lowell and Haverhill.

In Londonderry, two firefighters rescued "one scared little guy" with the aid of a rescue line after he fell into rushing floodwaters near the Woodland Village condominiums yesterday afternoon.

Capt. David Spahn said the 12-year-old had stepped on a log to get a better look at floodwaters in Beaver Brook. The log gave way, sending him into the water. The boy grabbed onto a tree and held on until rescue workers, who were already in the area, could reach him. Spahn said the boy was in the water for about 15 minutes.

A 12-year-old is rescued by a Londonderry firefighter after the boy fell into rushing floodwaters near the Woodland Village condominiums yesterday afternoon. (ALAN SYPEK)

Lt. Jesse Roberts said the boy was suffering mild hypothermia and was taken to Parkland Medical Center in Derry. Spahn said the boy stopped into the department with his mother around 8 p.m. to thank rescue workers.

Unlike the floods last fall in southeast New Hampshire, the weekend's storm spread across the state, hammering roads, ruining basements and forcing communities to establish emergency shelters.

"The damage is general," said James Van Dongen, a spokesman for the state Bureau of Emergency Management. "It's literally hundreds of local roads throughout eight counties."

There are 460 New Hampshire National Guardsmen actively involved in or on standby to assist with flooding problems as of 8 a.m. today.

There are 151 guardsmen already in the field. Thirty-eight are assisting with traffic problems in Hooksett; 26 are involved with traffic operations in Goffstown; 54 are assisting the Manchester Fire Department; 25 are on duty in Milton where widespread flooding has occurred; four are assisting with home evacuations in Raymond, and four are assisting with traffic problems in Allenstown. The majority of the guardsmen are on standby, divided between the National Guard Armory in Manchester and the National Guard facility at Pease, according to Major Greg Heilshorn, State Public Affairs Officer.

Heilshorn said there are a total of 360 guardsmen called up for active duty; the remaining 100 involved in the effort are support personnel and regular full-time Guard employees.

Addison Road in Goffstown was ripped apart by rushing water yesterday. (J. BEDARD)

At least nine shelters were open last night for evacuees: Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, Epsom Central School, Wakefield Public Safety Building, Bartlett Elementary School in Goffstown, Salem High School, West Running Brook School in Derry, Barrington Middle School, Nottingham Community Center and Pittsfield Middle School.

With all but Coos and Cheshire counties receiving up to 8 inches of rain in at least some areas, most of New Hampshire was experiencing minor to moderate flooding.

Some roads were under water and large sections of others were washed away as brooks, streams and rivers overflowed.

"My back yard is an ocean," said Tom Johnson of Salem. "It looks like the beach."

Jim McCarty watches water being released from Bow Lake Dam to take stress off the structure yesteraday in Strafford. McCarty, who lives next to the dam, said he was glad the water was being released, since his basement was flooding. (AP)

A day before the rains came, a brook running through his property was 3 feet deep, 4 to 5 feet wide, and about 60 yards from his home, Johnson said. Yesterday it was flowing into his basement, where a pump that handles 1,500 gallons of water an hour was not keeping up.

Authorities evacuated areas along the Maine-New Hampshire border downstream from the Milton Pond Dam near West Lebanon, Maine.

North of Rochester, there was concern a dam on Milton Pond in Milton was in danger of failing. Milton Fire Chief Andy Lucier said last night he felt comfortable that the dam was safe and controlling the water flow.

"We're confident that we can get this under control," Lucier said. "I don't feel right now that there's any risk."

Many roads were closed in Hooksett and across the state. Yesterday, the local emergency management office said the town basically was closed because so many roads were flooded.

In nearby Dunbarton and New Boston, cars were reported driving into sink holes or getting stranded while trying to make it through washed-out roads.

Merrimack Emergency Management ordered the voluntary evacuation of the Island Drive section of town and closed off a number of streets to traffic due to flooding.

Police and fire crews assisted residents in the Island Drive area of town near Horseshoe Pond. As of yesterday evening, water had risen 8 inches over the causeway leading to the island, according to William Pepler, Merrimack fire chief and emergency management director.

A dam breach in Barnstead along Suncook River forced the mandatory evacuation of homes on Riverside Park Drive, Brookside Terrace and Mount Delight Road in Bear Brook State Park on the Deerfield border, Capt. Shaun Mulholland said.

On the Seacoast, the rains forced the closing of Route 1, from Hampton into Hampton Falls. Roads in Rye, Seabrook and Exeter were also closed.

In Union, state Sen. Joseph Kenney evacuated with his family.

"It's very powerful. It's definitely a deluge of water we have not seen in recent years," said Kenney.

An evacuation also took place in Epsom. "We've done voluntary evacuations in all low-lying areas," said Epsom Fire Department Chief Stewart Yeaton.

Elsewhere, high water caused the closure of the Concord Steam Plant on Pleasant Street in Concord, which provides heat to many buildings in the city, according to the Concord Fire Department. Many roads have been closed in the capital, and a sink hole opened up near 119 Warren St., authorities said.

New Hampshire Union Leader reporters Riley Yates and Benjamin Kepple, correspondents Todd Morrison, Matthew Call, Jerry Miller, Toby Henry and Son Hoang contributed to this report, as did The Associated Press.

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