Crews work to shore up Rhode Island dam that’s threatening to burst amid heavy rains

RI dam threatens to break amid heavy rains

WEST WARWICK, R.I. — Crews are using sand bags and granite blocks to shore up a Rhode Island dam that’s at risk of breaking amid heavy rains.

Officials and engineers are at the dam Monday afternoon on private land on the Pawtuxet River in West Warwick. The river has reached a record of more than 14 feet.

Steve Kass of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency says officials are trying to decide whether to open the dam more.

But that could worsen flooding downstream in Warwick and Cranston. He says that a parking lot at a mall downstream is already under 2 feet of water and that opening the dam could put whole stores under water.

State emergency management director David Smith says the dam is likely to hold if the rain lets up.