Last river drops below flood stage in R.I.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 6 (UPI) -- The Pawtuxet River in Rhode Island dropped below flood stage early Tuesday, six days after it crested at a record 20.8 feet, meteorologists said.

The river was the last one in the hard-hit state to return to its banks, the National Weather Service reported.

Last week's flooding was so severe both Interstate 95 and the Northeast Corridor rail line were closed in Rhode Island. Amtrak began operating at close to a full schedule Monday after routing all service between Boston and New Haven, Conn., by way of Springfield, Mass., for several days, The South County Independent reported.

In Rhode Island, state, local and federal agencies were trying to assess the damage.

Last week's flooding was especially devastating because it hit just as the state was recovering from an earlier round of flooding in mid-March.

In Cranston, the state's third-largest city, the fire department had a list of 800 buildings with basements needing to be pumped out, The Providence Journal reported. School officials were working on locating children who need transportation from temporary addresses.

The city, by Monday, had granted more than 300 applications for building permits to make emergency repairs to flood-damaged structures.