Residents in coastal Mass. town urged to evacuate as blizzard hits

SCITUATE, Mass. – Blizzard conditions are expected on the coast of New England on Thursday, and residents are bracing for possible flooding and power outages as a result. A blizzard warning has been issued from Cape Cod to the Maine coast from 1 a.m. Thursday through 1 a.m. Friday.

CBS Boston reports the town of Scituate is asking residents along the coast to voluntarily evacuate.

Crews were working on seawalls Wednesday ahead of the storm while residents were stocking up on supplies.

"We're just being like everyone else getting milk, bread, all that fun stuff," shopper Kelli Rodgers said.

Wednesday was the calm before the storm as officials said it was the best day to get ready.

Some residents took the day to prepare their generators and snow blowers.

Thursday's storm could drop more than a foot of snow on parts of southeastern Massachusetts. With damaging wind gusts, power outages are a big concern.

"Definitely concerned we have a fire place and a wood stove hopefully we can keep the temp above freezing. Definitely don't want to have frozen pipes I'm sure the plumbers are going to be backed up like crazy," said Rodgers.

Flooding is another factor for coastal communities.

"We've got an astronomically high tide and with storm surge of 1.5-2 feet we're expected to have moderate flooding in the Brant Rock area and some other parts of town that normally flood," said Marshfield Police Chief Phillip Tavares.