BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- Police urged about 2,000 people to evacuate their homes in southern Massachusetts on Monday after a dam strained by record rainfall began to buckle and threatened to flood low-lying neighborhoods.Massachusetts emergency management officials said the Whittendon Pond Dam in Taunton about 33 miles (53 kilometers) south of Boston could fail after record rainfall swelled rivers and ponds across northeastern United States last week."Downstream from the river there are about 100 homes, as well as downtown Taunton," said Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, referring to the city of 49,800 people.The National Weather Service issued a "flash flood" advisory that said the situation was "extremely dangerous" and "life threatening." A makeshift shelter was opened for residents who live along a river downstream from the dam.Torrential rain and floods swamped cities across the Northeast last week, washing out roads, triggering mudslides, leading to power outages and forcing hundreds of people to flee their drenched homes.Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has estimated the week of rain and floods likely caused $6.5 million in damage, a threshold that would make the state eligible for federal aid.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.