LAWRENCE — Free cleanup kits are available to Merrimack Valley flood victims today, courtesy of the American Red Cross.
The kits include a bucket, mop, brooms, small bottles of bleach and other cleaning agents to clean homes and buildings after this week's floods.
The kits are available at the Arlington School, 150 Arlington St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or until supplies last, said Keith Stefanelli, Red Cross associate disaster services director.
Anyone in the Merrimack Valley who was flooded is welcome to pick up a kit, Stefanelli said.
"This is open to the residents of Lawrence and surrounding towns," Stefanelli said.
About 10 inches of rain fell in the Merrimack Valley from Saturday to Monday flooding roads, homes, businesses and parking lots along the Shawsheen and Spicket rivers. Today is the first weekend since the flooding, and Red Cross staffers felt it was a good time to hand out the cleaning kits.
Many times residents who experience flooding in their home are often relieved once the water is gone, "but it's important to take the time to clean up properly," said Stefanelli, noting that mold and mildew easily build up in flooded areas.
A Lawrence neighborhood left underwater when the Spicket River overflowed is nearly back to normal, acting fire Chief Brian Murphy said yesterday. About 20 multifamily homes were evacuated Monday after water deluged the Myrtle Street neighborhood off Hampshire Street. Gas and electricity to the homes were cut, forcing residents to stay with family and friends or at the Arlington School, which has served as the temporary regional shelter since Monday.
Thursday, after river water visibly receded, city inspectors started checking on the houses and allowing residents to return to their homes.
Four homes remain uninhabitable at this time. Two have possible structural damage to their foundations and two had electrical services damaged by water.
"They may need new panels or they may just need to dry out," Murphy said.
On Winthrop Avenue (Route 114), two businesses that flooded, Holiday Inn Express and Friendly's, have both reopened, Murphy said.
Officials are still trying to nail down the overall cost of flooding in the region, but noted that task may take months.
