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Indeed, that was just a horrible, HORRIBLE thing to happen. I was worried that you might be in that area. Hope none in your family were!
Have they determined what happened. They were saying excess pressure setting, but what kind of stupid does it take to do that?!
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There is a outer beltway (Rt 495) that surrounds Boston from Cape Cod to the extreme North of MA, where these towns are located. They are very old towns that had their heyday during the Industrial Revolution, with many Mills and factories powered by the Merrimac River. The infrastructure is very old, so even a mild increase in pressure could cause a rupture. It is theorized that the pipes carrying the gas ruptured and the trench carrying the pipes filled with gas. That means that even turning the gas off at the house was a useless effort, because the gas was in the earth, not just pipes.
The three towns affected got their gas from one company, different from surrounding towns, so luckily, the system is contained. However, 18,000 people have no electricity and have been evacuated to surrounding towns. This all happened at the north end of Rt 495, and by coincidence, I was at the south end of the same beltway, a distance of 58 miles.
My sister’s in-laws, however, live in Haverhill which is the next town over from the affected area. They are served by a different gas company and are safe.
