Several coastal communities in Massachusetts are still recovering from severe flooding over the weekend, while many are bracing for another round of snow, sleet and rain headed our way overnight.
With the grounds already saturated, concerns were brewing Monday night with cleanup still underway just as this next storm moves in.
All of the sand that was washing up in Salisbury was pushed back up against the beach in hopes of creating somewhat of a barrier. It was actually already in place before Saturday's storm but even that didn't stop Mother Nature as powerful waves at Salisbury Beach took down walls of sand and flooded out nearby shops, streets and homes this weekend, creating a mess of a cleanup for the town.
Selectman Chuck Takesian says with the high tide and wind, they didn't stand a chance: “The water was just crashing right over them.”
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
"This is all from around Broadway. They piled it up here to try and stop the water from coming down, however, that didn’t work.”
Foam could be seen engulfing Broadway with some cars trying to get through the floods. Emergency personnel were also struggling in the deep water.
"I had my hip waders on, and it was up over my knees walking down. Probably about two or three blocks," Chuck Shaw said.
Residents like Shaw watched his neighbors' homes start to flood. Town officials say at least 20 houses sustained damage.
“Salisbury is 84% wetlands, so we’re surrounded by the beach and the marsh. So any high tides like this, we suffer,” Salisbury Selectman Michael Colburn said. "We’ve been just trying to clean it up so people can go home.”
Emergency management is monitoring already saturated areas in town as the next storm system arrives overnight.
"Mother Nature. You never know what Mother Nature’s going to bring.”
Town officials say police, fire and Department of Public Works crews will be out Monday night, watching to make sure some trouble areas don't get any worse with the arrival of this next storm.
It was a similar scene in Salem over the weekend, as wave after wave crashed into town with unrelenting force. Saturday's storm smashed into the Willows section of Salem.
For Dorothy McDonald, Monday was for assessing the damage and starting the process of cleaning up.
"It looked like a tidal wave was coming in," she said. "The water was up to here."
Her basement flooded with five feet of water, destroying everything down there.
"It was extremely scary, I think you just go into overdrive, we went into overdrive and we were trying to figure out what we were trying to get and what we were trying to save and all of a sudden I was waist deep and I said we can't save anything," McDonald said.
A couple of blocks over on Lower Columbus Avenue, the sea wall was nothing more than just a suggestion, as the ocean spilled over.
"When the wind is coming east like that, that is coming directly in so we get the biggest impact," Michael Robbins said.
Some homes were spared, a lot were not, though.
"We had water, it was so high on the side of our chimney it came into the flute of the furnace it was pouring out of the furnace," Cynthia Jerzylo said.
By Saturday afternoon, the sun came out, the streets becoming rivers.
"I think a lot of people got damage that haven't experienced that level of damage before," Lucy Patrowitz said.
Back inside McDonald's basement, the furnace, hot water heat and washer and dryer are all destroyed.
"We have a freezer chest, it was floating by us, I thought to myself, it is so heavy how can that float," she said.
After this weekend's storm, people were looking for signs that it will be OK.
"We are lucky there is no loss of life, these things can be replaced," McDonald said.
This area last got hit hard in the storm a couple days before Christmas last year, and just like then, this community is coming together, raising money for those impacted.
