Driving rains that caused the worst flooding in New England since the 1930s finally eased up Tuesday, but washed-out roads and the danger of dam breaks prevented many people from returning to their homes.

More than a foot of rain fell across New Hampshire, Massachusetts and southern Maine between Friday and Tuesday, with up to 17 inches in some places.

Police reported a single fatality, a 59-year-old man whose body was found in a submerged car north of Boston, Massachusetts.

Gov. Mitt Romney said the damage would reach tens of millions of dollars in Massachusetts alone. And more rain was forecast for the weekend.

But on Tuesday, the worst appeared to be over. In Maine, roads reopened and the threat against two dams on the Salmon Falls River eased.

In Methuen, Massachusetts, state and federal engineers watched a granite dam in danger of collapse after it was reinforced with 5,000 sandbags. (Watch sandbaggers try to save a park -- 1:41)

Many property owners began cleaning up, although major rivers remained above flood stage.

Jeffrey Saba, 42, used a 20-foot canoe to inspect his swamped home in Lowell, Massachusetts, near the swollen Merrimack River. The water flooded Saba's garage and rose past his deck, 10 feet off the ground.

"I just canoed over a 6-foot fence," Saba said.

"We are up against a battle now," Saba said. "The next couple of days will be just a waiting game."

Water flooded the first floor of a nursing home in Lawrence, forcing officials to cut power to the place and evacuate 243 residents, many of whom emerged in wheelchairs and on stretchers, wrapped in white blankets and clutching oxygen masks.