Floods can be especially damaging for automobiles but something few ever expect is for the ground to swallow up their car as a result. That’s exactly what happened with three Cadillac SUVs at a Massachusetts dealer after a flash flood. The incident is only one of many stories of damage from the natural disaster.
Monday, September 11th, a torrential downpour in Leominster, Massachusetts caused damage to the extent that crews are still determining the total cost. That damage includes some to Durand Cadillac on Main Street. Water made its way into the dealership itself but it also removed a great deal of sediment underneath one corner of the property.
When the ground gave way it did so with three Cadillac SUVs sitting on top of it. The cars fell partly into the 15-foot hole below. Retrieving the SUVs required specialized cranes that could lift each vehicle in its entirety up and out of the earth. Combined, the three vehicles are likely worth nearly $200,000.
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According to CBSNews, the owners don’t have flood insurance and aren’t certain about the extent of the damage to the three vehicles. Unsurprisingly, the sunken Cadillacs are far from the most damaged property in the wake of the flash flood. Many homes were pushed off of their foundations.
Roads throughout the area were completely destroyed. Mayor Dean Mazzarella put it succinctly saying “It’s a miracle that we haven’t had any fatalities… we rescued so many people last night we don’t even have a total count.”
In another incident, a couple moved their vehicle not long before another 15-foot sinkhole opened up where it had been. The area itself isn’t in a flood zone so the ultimate cost of the damage to the local residents could be life-altering.