North Shore communities are dealing with the aftermath of Wednesday night’s April snowfall. The coastal communities of Lynn, Swampscott, Nahant, and Marblehead worked Thursday to resolve issues of flooding, fallen trees, and power outages from the precipitation.
Nahant suffered a town-wide power outage at approximately 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning, and was not restored until around 2 p.m. Town Administrator Tony Barletta said that Thursday’s high tide lasted longer than expected, and multiple coastal roads had to be temporarily closed due to flooding. He credited the town’s Emergency Management Agency for their overnight efforts to minimize issues.
In Swampscott, portions of Humphrey Street, Atlantic Avenue, and Puritan Road each had to be closed off due to flooding. According to the town’s Director of Public Works Gino Cresta, all three were reopened by early afternoon, with debris that still needed to be removed. A tree located on residential property on Forest Avenue fell, damaging power lines and causing electricity outages for surrounding residents. National Grid employed the help of an additional contractor to work on restoring the power Thursday afternoon.
In Marblehead, the causeway leading to the Neck remained open despite rough waves splashing along the town’s coast. The Police Department said there was minimal flooding and debris on a few streets, however it warned drivers to always be careful during storms.
“This storm caused limited street closures, but we ask everyone to drive with caution in every storm, especially when high winds, high tides and coastal flooding is forecasted,” the Marblehead Police Department said on its Facebook page.
The Lynn Fire Department was dispatched to Beach Road at around 8:10 a.m. Thursday after receiving multiple calls about a possible collapsed or blown-off roof.
The Dept.’s Public Information Officer Lt. Denis Ring said that the roof sheathing and membrane had blown off the 19-unit apartment building, 11 Beach Road. Some pieces had blown off, landing in the alleyway, and others struck the building at 17 Beach Road.
Ring said companies came in to assess the building, and decided to evacuate residents once it was noted that water had made its way into the main electrical system of the building. Lynn Inspectional Services (LIS) was brought to the scene as well.
“(LIS) decided that the best course of action was to kill the power to the building, and evacuate the building until a roofing company could come out and secure the roof membrane,” Ring said.
17 Beach Rd. received minor damage, and was not evacuated.
Ring said there were no injuries, and most tenants of 11 Beach St. will be staying with family or friends until the roof is fixed. He added that the property management company will be handling room and board for tenants still needing a place to go.
