Massachusetts is not in the clear yet, even as a blizzard that dumped 20 inches of snow on the Boston area winds down. The state's remaining travel ban will end at midnight, but coastal communities are bracing for more flooding during Tuesday evening's high tide.
Snowfall totals topped 20 inches along the coast, leaving some residents simultaneously digging out and wading through floodwaters.
Powerful surf slams into oceanfront homes in Marshfield's Green Harbor. #wcvb pic.twitter.com/bpvcCfgE8Z— Kelley Tuthill (@wcvbkelleyt) January 27, 2015
Portions of Scituate were evacuated by National Guardsmen on Tuesday, and receding floodwaters left cars and sidewalks coated in a thick layer of ice.
Frozen over from the ocean waters in Scituate this vehicle will not be moved soon. pic.twitter.com/IOGnRRSWaa— David L. Ryan (@GlobeDavidLRyan) January 27, 2015
Resident Lisa Caisse told the Boston Globe she was rescued from her home on Tuesday morning.
“The storm came down both sides of the house,” she said. “It took out the wall that would have protected our door.”
Scituate residents woke up to severe flooding after the morning's high tide, driven in part by the storm's strong winds. Many coastal streets were flooded, and officials said parts of the town that did not typically get flooded were underwater.
Power was shut off for 200 homes in the coastal area ahead of the storm as a precaution, because if there was a fire, crews would not be able to reach the affected homes.