PETERBOROUGH – Babbling brooks became raging rivers across the Monadnock Region Saturday night as more than 5 inches of rain fell in less than four hours.

Roads were flooded in Peterborough, Jaffrey, Dublin, Rindge and other towns at the base of Mount Monadnock, creating problems on major highways and country lanes.

By yesterday morning, the water had receded, revealing damage from washouts and mudslides that kept state and local highway departments busy throughout the day.

The slow-vehicle lane on Route 101 near Temple Mountain in Peterborough remained closed yesterday afternoon, according to NH Department of Transportation Specialist Bob Carr.

Carr said the torrential downpours that swept across the region washed away a section of the lane and undermined pavement. However, because Route 101 on Temple Mountain has two eastbound lanes, and one westbound lane, traffic flow hasn't been seriously affected, Carr said.

On Route 202 yesterday morning, crews had pushed back a small mudslide that had closed the eastbound lane the night before, but Route 136 in Peterborough still had only a single passable lane due to a brook that had jumped its banks and washed out part of the road.

"Though a flood warning was issued, we didn't expect the devastation to the roads," said Peterborough Deputy Fire Chief Brian Wall. "And the sad thing is that many of these roads were just recently repaired."

Wall said that crews from the state and the town had been on hand throughout the day, using truckloads of gravel and heavy machinery to repair the damage.

"And there were no injuries," he said. "That's a good thing."

Henry Foster, 11, inspects the damage to Harness Road in Jaffrey yesterday. (NANCY BEAN FOSTER)

According to the Army Corp of Engineers that runs MacDowell Dam in Peterborough, the area saw more than five inches of rain in less than four hours, said Wall.

"The storm that came through was just a massive cell," said Carr. "It dumped an amazing amount of rain."

In Jaffrey, only one road remained closed yesterday, according to a dispatcher at the fire department.

Harness Road, a winding country road was virtually cut in half by a seemingly innocent stream during the Saturday night storms. Though the water had receded, it left a deep trench across the road, rendering it impassable.

Forest Road in Greenfield hard-hit, Carr said, with significant damage from Old Bennington Road to the covered bridge.

"That road is really washed out," said Carr. "We expect it to be closed for at least a week."