South Shore Flooded Again By Second Nor'easter In A Week
MARSHFIELD (CBS) - Coastal communities were hit hard with more flooding after a second nor'easter in less than a week.
The latest storm brought wind, snow and additional flooding to some South Shore neighborhoods, and the bad weather is really taking a toll on residents.
"People are nervous. I think they're worried. They're scared. It's frightening to be here," said Marshfield Town Administrator Michael Maresco.
For Marshfield resident Joe Barow, the recent storms mirror the severe damage seen along the coast during the Blizzard of '78.
"It's closed to the worst I've seen here, as far as damage. I mean, the decks are all gone, the wall is broken up here again, and right here all the concrete is cracked," Barow said.
Surf splashed over the seawall and flowed down streets.
But the town administrator says overall, the seawall withstood the storm.
"Last night they added about 500 tons of boulders on the side of the Brant Rock wall," said Maresco. "It appears that all the seawalls held. All of that work paid off, other than flooding."
Last week's nor'easter seriously damaged the seawall and even caused sections to collapse.
Over in Plymouth, the Pilgrim Sands hotel was among local landmarks that lost windows, doors and walls during the storm.
In Scituate, Town Manager Jim Boudreau said police, fire and DPW employees "have been going at it for seven straight days."
"They're getting tired and they're getting worried about the impact that it's having on them. They need a break. They need a break from this weather pattern," Boudreau said.
Back in Marshfield, crews are just as tired.
Brant Rock looks like a war zone besieged with heavy equipment.
Crews have been racing to fortify broken seawalls with giant boulders, hoping to protect waterfront homes.
"It's not unusual we have high tides, and then you have a nor'easter on top of it, compounded with water, rain," said Duxbury Town Administrator Rene Read.
So far, "the large boulders, those have held up beautifully. The wall itself is holding for the moment and we've done the back filling, so it all seems to be working pretty well," said Read.
Even though the storm has passed, the hard work on stabilizing the sea wall will continue, while officials try to secure funds to replace it.
"We need it from the state, we need it from the federal government. This is going to be an expensive repair, and it's a long-term project," said Read.
Town officials expected to begin pumping out flooded neighborhoods on Thursday.
