"It's devastating," At least 20 homes in Salisbury damaged in weekend storm
SALISBURY - Coastal communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire are dealing with devastating damage after the powerful weekend storms brought record high tides.
Stunning images from the sky showed a battered seacoast. Salisbury town officials said raging waves wreaked havoc, leaving at least 20 homes damaged with more being assessed.
Decks were ripped from their homes from substantial erosion. Homeowners like Jeff Sterling don't have outside stairs anymore. The water took them, along with 40 feet of his backyard. His neighbor's triple story deck collapsed into a stack of wood, and luckily, they weren't home at the time.
"It's devastating, we're going through a lot here," said Sterling. "It's several homes, it's sad a situation that we went through."
In the town, debris and seafoam littered the streets. Tidal flooding hit a restaurant and flattened massive sand dunes that had been piled up on the beach from a back-to-back storm.
"The storm was so severe that it blew the dunes out," said Board Selectman Michael Colburn. "It also blew two doors from this building, and they had sand and water in the building."
Now, the precious commodity the town desperately needs is more sand to protect homes. Officials hope the Commonwealth can step in and help.
"We have to do everything to find some sand to be put on the beach to protect the citizens of Salisbury," said Colburn.
Neighbors say another way to protect citizens is for officials to finally add some type of a sea wall. "Put up a barrier, they've been talking about it for the five past years and have failed," said Sterling.
With another round of snow, sleet, and rain hours away, officials are grappling with a cleanup effort—while bracing for another blow.
"We get another hit like that, we're going to be in big trouble," said Chuck Takesian. "It looks like we don't have the wind or the high tide either, but people are very, very concerned, we've got a whole winter to go through."
No matter how the town prepares, they know Mother Nature always has the upper hand.
"Scary, very scary," said Sterling.
Officials say if your home was damaged, please call the Salisbury Emergency Management at SEMA@salisburyma.gov so officials can document the damage and point people to resources for help.
