Just as Allenstown wins federal assistance to buy up to 14 homes severely damaged in the past two years’ floods, it – and many other towns throughout the state – ended up sopping wet after Hanna hit.

The tropical storm swept up the coastline and through New England quickly, the first downpour hitting the state in the evening on Saturday, Sept. 6.

The storm dumped several inches of rain overnight, and brought with it winds of 40 plus miles per hour.

The next day, Sunday, Sept. 7, was spent surveying the damage and pumping out for many business owners.

For many road agents, it means being worried about spending money the town doesn’t have.

Hooksett Police Capt. Paul Cecilio said the Kmart plaza on Route 28 flooded just as badly as it did in the past two years’ floods.

Virtually every major route into and out of Hooksett was out of commission in the early morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 7.

“At one point, we had Mammoth Road closed, we had Bypass 28 closed from Whitehall all the way to the intersection of Route 3 and 28 because Kmart flooded, and we had Hooksett Road closed all the way from McDonald’s to that intersection because Kmart flooded,” Cecilio said. “At the same time, we had Route 3-A closed from Exit 10 going south because of a sinkhole where the new Lowe’s construction is.

“Basically, every major route going in and out of Hooksett was closed except for I-93 and Route 3-A from Exit 10 to Bow,” he said. “Other than that, every single major road was blocked.” “It rained, and it rained hard,” said Epsom Police Chief Wayne Preve. “We had a lot of damage, basically in the same areas we had trouble with in the previous floods,” he added. Roads slowly began opening around 6 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7, Cecilio said. The highway and fire departments were out in full force trying to contain the water damage.

“It was as bad as the flooding we had a couple years ago, when we had to have the National Guard and everyone else coming in,” Cecilio said. “If they don’t fix that problem at Kmart, every time we get heavy rain, it’s going to flood.”

Epsom fire and police evacuated about 20 people from the Lazy River Campground on Goboro Road when the heavy rains caused the flooding water to rise about 2 feet in an hour in the lower part of the campground. “We got there around 3 p.m., and I was walking on dry ground. Within half an hour, I was walking in water,” Preve said.

Many chose to tow their campers out of the flooded area and brought them to higher ground in the park. The campground owner was also helping tow campers out of the rising water and mud, along with fire and police, Preve said.

Black Hall, Prospect, New Orchard, Swamp, Range, North, River, Droulet and Goboro roads were all washed out, Preve said, and there was also a tree down on Swamp Road.

“In some areas, there is considerable damage,” he said.

Epsom Road Agent Gordon Ellis said on Monday, Sept. 8, he planned on meeting with selectmen at their weekly meeting that night to discuss how the town is going to pay for the repairs the latest weather disaster left behind.

The town hasn’t even fully recovered from a tornado that ripped through on July 24. “I do not have enough money to fix the damage. I don’t think it’s going to get declared, so it will fall on the taxpayers, and I just have to do the best I can with what I have,” said Gordon, who said he and his workers were busy on Sunday, Sept. 7, clearing cow paths for emergency vehicles to enter areas still inaccessible by road.

“What I’ve done yesterday and today is make sure people can get in and out of their homes,” Ellis said on Monday, Sept. 8.

Sanborn Hill, Martin Hill, and Chestnut Pond were the hardest hit areas this time, he added.

There are no preliminary estimates of the damage but it wasn’t as bad as the spring floods of the past two years, Ellis said, because they used a lot of erosion stone when they rebuilt the roads after the last flooding episode.

Most of the roads in question are unpaved. Ellis said it’s not financially feasible to pave them because the drainage repairs that would have to be made are astronomical compared to the simple paving of the road itself. “Drainage most of the time costs more than the pavement that’s on top,” said Ellis. “If you’re drainage isn’t right, it’s not going to last.”

Earlier this year, Allenstown residents voted down every monetary warrant article on the ballot, including one asking voters to help fund a matching grant to fix a culvert on Mount Delight Road that was reduced to pieces during the 2007 floods.

Mount Delight Road was washed out again when Hanna hit, and Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said it’s a situation that could have been avoided if the culvert had been fixed.

While Allenstown was just awarded $2 million in federal grants to buy flood damaged homes, Mulholland said its unlikely the $10,000 or so in damage Hanna caused would qualify for assistance.

The storm caused erosion damage on Deerfield Road and Campbell Street, Mulholland said, and water flooded the culde- sacs on Jasper Drive, Alban Avenue and Riverside Drive. These areas were seriously affected by the 2006 and 2007 floods. Mulholland said the water pooled on their lawns, but did not reach the homes again. “Obviously, this caused a great deal of concern down there. We had an officer stationed down there,” Mulholland said.

Residents in the Deerfield Road area lost power during the storm Mulholland said. Several trees came down around town, he added.