CAPE COD – A major nor’easter is still affecting the region as Saturday dawns. The worse of the storm has peaked but there is still concern for additional coastal flooding with the early afternoon high tide. Widespread power outages have occurred and restoration efforts will take time. Watch this area for continuing coverage of the storm. If you can safely take photos or video please send them to us but remember SAFETY FIRST.
1:00 PM update: Power restoration beginning in earnest. Tally has fallen below 90,000 after being over 100,000. Many trees have to be removed and utility poles replaced. Scenes line this on on Gull Pond Road in Welflleet near School House Hill Road are not uncommon so be careful if you must drive especially on back roads:
Some coastal flooding already starting as shown in photos below.
Live video from Bourne Police at Sagamore Beach:
Millway Beach in Barnstable:
Corporation Beach in Dennis:
Rock Harbor Road in Orleans
Sandbags at the Gosnold Street town landing in Provincetown:
Flooding on Bradford Street behind town hall in Provincetown (thanks to Carl for these two photos):
12:00 PM update: Some dramatic photos from Sandwich Police of damage there:
11:30 AM update: Statement from BCREPC: “At its 10 a.m. March 3, 2018, conference call, the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee (BCREPC) assessed the aftermath of Storm Riley and weighed the necessity of activating the Regional Shelter System.
As of 10:30 a.m. Saturday there were approximately 98,000 without power on Cape Cod with Falmouth and Barnstable being the hardest hit.
The electric utility Eversource has brought in additional tree and line crews to work on restoration. Hospitals and assisted-care facilities are given top priority. Main lines along the major roadways will be restored first where the maximum number of people can be restored at one time. Eversource and communications provider Verizon are coordinating on the replacement of downed and damaged utility poles. Eversource recommends that people plan for multiple days without power.
The storm is pulling away and the winds will slowly abate though gusty conditions will persist throughout the day. Fortunately, the temperatures will remain above freezing for the next few days.
The Barnstable County Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) under the management of the Barnstable County All Hazards Incident Management Team is focusing its efforts on working with localities and the utilities in power restoration efforts.
A decision on the need to activate the Regional Shelter system will be made by mid-afternoon Saturday. Any citizen who needs immediate assistance should contact their local police or fire department.
If they have not already done so, anyone without power should call Eversource at 1-800-592-2000 to report the outage.
- In the event of a downed wire, always remain at least 10 feet away, assume the wire is live, and call 911 and Eversource immediately.
- If you use a generator, follow all safety precautions provided by the manufacturer.
- If you smell gas, leave immediately and call 911.”
11:00 AM update: Bourne Police alert “Access to Wareham from the West Rotary (end of Main St/Bypass) will be CLOSED immediately due to a building actively collapsing on Cranberry Hwy. Use Route 25 or Head of the Bay Rd.”
Eversoure statement “Because the winds have caused extensive damage to the electric system, we are still assessing the damage. We do not have restoration times right now, but will provide them as soon as we can. We appreciate your patience as we continue this important work.”
Onset Fire has released a statement on the hit and run that left one their members seriously injured. They report the incident happened about 7 PM Friday evening on Cranberry Highway near Onset Avenue when a motorist struck the firefighter at a traffic incident and left the scene. The firefighter was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. The statement says “due to the sensitive nature of the incident and pending notification to family, no further information details are able to be released at this time.” Wareham Police are investigating the incident. Wareham DNR in an earlier post described a silver vehicle that possibly headed into Bourne. If you have any info on this incident please call Wareham Police at 508-295-1212. (See updated story here)
9:15 AM update: Rollover crash on ramp to Route 25 westbound in Bourne. Driver was not injured.
Coast Guard officials are on scene inspecting fishing vessel up on West End Breakwater in Provincetown-photo by Cherie Young:
8 AM update: First and foremost, There are still many trees and wires down so please don’t drive unless you have to. If you must use extra caution and obey detours as they are for your protection. Stay away from downed power lines as they may be live.
Tree down in Truro-Truro Police photo:
After peaking at over 103,000 customers without power, the number has fallen slightly to 99,000. Restoration efforts have been slowed by the winds which prevented crews from going up in the bucket trucks. It is obvious it is going to take days to get all the power restored.
Broken pole in Chatham-Chatham Police photo:
The National Weather Service reported a top wind gust of 93 MPH and nearly 4 inches of rain on the Cape:
Click here for earlier storm coverage.
