BY ROD HANSEN

The storms of April 15 and 16 caused worse damage to local roads than last year’s Mother’s Day floods, according to the local police chief.

“The damage was much more substantial than last year, and we’ve lost areas where we never, ever had a problem before,” said Police Chief Chris Krajenka.

His remarks came after a period when rushing waters wrought severe damage to several local roadways. During the evening commute of Monday, April 16, Krajenka said all major thoroughfares leading into town were closed.

“It is true that for a time there we were like an island,” Krajenka said.

Major road closures at the time included Route 13, Route 136, Route 77 and Bedford Road, as well as several local roads, Krajenka said.

Some families were also displaced from their homes, with three staying at an emergency shelter the Greater Manchester Red Cross established at New Boston Central School, Krajenka said.

He commended the staff at the town’s emergency operations center in the police station, which included personnel from the police, fire and public works departments, as well as community volunteers helping answer phones and assisting with traffic points.

At the height of the emergency, the majority of calls into the operations center involved residents calling to find out how they could get home, Krajenka said.

Board of selectmen Chairman Christine Quirk manned the emergency operations center during the emergency, while Selectman Gordon Carlstrom spent the day with Road Agent John Riendeau, the chief said.

Gov. John Lynch visited the police station on April 17, and Krajenka spoke of the need for the state to revisit its storm water runoff regulations.

Some of the most severe damage of the storm could be traced to the clear-cutting of 40 acres of forest to make way for construction off of Bedford Road, Krajenka said.

Loose branches and other forest debris clogged a culvert in the area of town known as Foxbury Run, ultimately causing the rushing water to undermine a 12-foot section of Bedford Road.

“When something like that happens, you can say that clear-cutting is affecting the operations of this town,” Krajenka said.

On the morning of Wednesday, April 18, roads remaining closed included River Road north into Goffstown, Gregg Mill Road, Hooper Hill Road and sections of Bunker Hill Road, Thornton Road Bog Road, Tucker Mill Road, Butterfield Mill, while McCollum and Dennison roads are passable only by four-wheel drive, according to Police Sgt. Frank Kochanek.

About two dozen roads were closed in neighboring Weare on April 16, although all of them had been opened by the following afternoon.

Major roads closed during the storm included River Road, South Stark Highway, Twin Bridge Road and Deering Center Road, said Police Chief Greg Begin.

The town’s schools closed early on Monday, with Center Woods Elementary School and Weare Middle School opening the following day after a two-hour delay, and John Stark Regional High School remaining closed.

“For us, it was a lot like it was last year, because we had problems in the same places as we did last year,” Begin said.