Heavy rain from Ida left a ‘surreal scene’ on a Rhode Island road

A road in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, crumbled, leaving a “surreal scene,” amid heavy rain dumped over New England early Thursday morning as the remnants of Hurricane Ida battered the region.

Videos shared on social media by WPRI’s Johnny Villella show Fairview Lane caved in. Running water was visible under the sections of asphalt that fell apart.

“The road has collapsed. We have a car hanging over the edge here,” a man, presumably Villella, says off-camera in one of the videos, as he pans to a sedan straddling a fault-line in the pavement. “Just an unbelievable scene here.”

According to WCVB meteorologist Cindy Fitzgibbon, Portsmouth received 7.9 inches of rain overnight.

Debbie Furtado, who lives on Fairview Lane, was driving to work around 5:40 a.m. when the road collapsed underneath her car, she told NBC10 Boston.

“I heard this crash. The whole road fell down under me,” said Furtado, who was not injured. “That road was flat when I was going out. And it just went down — the car — so I had to crawl out of the car on the other side.”

In a statement, Portsmouth police said the road was closed Thursday morning and nearby residents should expect utility disruptions throughout the day.

“We are asking the public to please avoid this area so that these crews can continue to survey the damage and make the necessary repairs,” police said. “This is for the safety of the residents and crews on scene.”

Flooding was reported throughout the Northeast as Ida moved through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts Wednesday and Thursday.

A flood warning remained in effect for Portsmouth, Rhode Island, through 1:45 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

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