Tropical Storm Elsa made its way to Massachusetts on Friday, bringing heavy rainfall which resulted in significant flooding in some areas throughout the North Shore.
By 3 p.m., about three inches of rain had already fallen in Lynn, which appeared to have borne the brunt of the storm in the area. While flooding was seen in multiple areas throughout Lynn, surrounding communities such as Nahant and Swampscott escaped unscathed.
Although not as significant as the incidents reported in Lynn, flooding was also seen in Lynnfield, Peabody and Salem. Although not confirmed by the town, scanner reports also indicated late Friday morning that motorists in Saugus should have expected delays due to heavy flooding on Route 1 southbound.
In Lynn, flooding was seen in multiple areas, including the usual flooding spots on Boston Street, Bennett Street, the area around Market Basket, Commercial Street, Elmwood Avenue, Camden Street, South Elm Street and Astor Street.
Lynn Fire Capt. Joseph Zukas said these low-lying areas tend to flood, but the fire department didn’t receive any reports of people needing to be rescued.
“We always advise people to not assume how deep the water is and try to drive through something that you’re not sure of,” Zukas said. “You can see the amount of water is overwhelming the sewer and drainage systems.”
Zukas said the fire station on Lynnfield Street also flooded.
Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan said his ward saw a great deal of flooding, adding that all pumps were on at the Lynn Regional Wastewater Plant.
The city has been working on a combined sewer overflow project — Phase One is nearly complete — which is expected to decrease flooding in low-lying areas of the city, such as those impacted on Friday.
Phase Two will include the installation of a new pump station by Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, which is expected to begin in the next couple of months.
“We have waited 20 years for this much-needed work in our ward to help alleviate our flooding issues,” Hogan said.
Hogan said Bennett Street and Elmwood Avenue were “very bad” at around 1:30 p.m. For example, he saw cars get stuck while trying to drive through flooded areas on those two streets.
In Lynnfield, Department of Public Works Director John Tomasz said that the town held up well despite the amount of rain that had fallen. The only problem area was Summer Street under Route 128, which was closed to traffic at least through early afternoon.
“It’s just the usual places, like that part of Summer Street, which is prone to flooding,” Tomasz said. “We always have large puddles in other areas that take a while to drain, but overall, we are looking very good.”
Tomasz said there had been no reports of downed trees or property damage and traffic also seemed to be moving well on Route 1 through the tunnel.
“I’ve driven by there a couple of times today and the tunnel was still open, it looked like, as of noon or so,” he said.
Next door in Peabody, Police Chief Tom Griffin said conditions were also good with few reports of damage or flooding.
“It’s just the traditional spots, like over by Walnut Street and Wallis, that have water,” Griffin said. “Nothing really major. I have to say we haven’t had a lot of crazy calls and have heard no reports of tree damage, so conditions are really good, especially considering so much rain came down at one time.”
Griffin noted the department fielded several calls between noon and 2 p.m. from residents reporting flooding in the Oak, Central, Lowell, Russell, Margin and Birch Street areas.
In Nahant, Town Manager Antonio Barletta said Friday afternoon that there had been no serious incidents so far.
“We are watching the forecast and the models days before the storm approaches (to) prepare our town accordingly,” Barletta said.
For Barletta, it’s all about making sure that Nahant is prepared for the storm before it even begins.
“With a storm like this, a lot of it is prep work so that you can create stormwater flow and capacity,” he said. “Sudden heavy rain pours can sometimes cause flooding just because your catch basins are clogged or you don’t have the capacity in your stormwater system.”
Salem has been handling the storm rather well, according to Sgt. Sean Andrews of the Salem Police Department. Andrews said that there had been no serious incidents besides minor power outages in the morning.
Andrews also mentioned that there had been some instances of minor flooding, but thanks to some periods where the rain had let up, the water had been able to drain properly.
“I think everything has been going well so far. Hopefully it stays that way,” Andrews said.
A representative from the Saugus DPW said the town had not experienced any major incidents as of late Friday afternoon. All was well up to that point in the storm, the DPW said.
In Swampscott, DPW Director Gino Cresta said that the town had gotten off easy, with little damage beyond some blocked basins that they were able to keep under control.
Cresta said that typically, the two overpasses in town on Stetson Avenue and Burrill Street will flood during large storms, but that didn’t happen.
“We had the sawhorses out, ready to block the bridges, and we didn’t need it,” he said. “I’m really happy.”
Item writers Allysha Dunnigan, Tréa Lavery, Sam Minton and Anne Marie Tobin contributed to this report.
