President Obama has declared parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island federal disaster areas after flooding and storms swept through the region. Providence, Rhode Island has recorded more than fifteen inches of rain so far this month, making it the city’s rainiest month on record. In Boston, it has been the second rainiest month since record keeping began in 1872. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said, “We’ve had two fifty-year storms in the course of two or three weeks. It’s unheard of.” Many climate scientists say there is a direct link between global warming and record rainfalls. A recent study by the US Global Change Research Program found the amount of very heavy precipitation on the Eastern seaboard rose by 67 percent between 1958 and 2007.