Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday that he has activated the National Guard ahead of Friday’s nor’easter. The storm is expected to bring severe coastal flooding.
“Five inches of rain in less than 12 hours, combined with two major high tides, people need to take this very seriously,” Baker said of the storm, which packs potential to level widespread damage along the entire coast.
Baker warned that the approaching storm is shaping up to be “more severe” than the one back on Jan. 4. Many coastal communities saw historic flooding, including Scituate.
“We’re anticipating a very severe, multi-hazard weather event,” said Kurt Schwartz, the director of MEMA. “We expect to lose homes.”
In Scituate, residents are still recovering from January’s storm that caused significant flooding and damage. A state of emergency was declared at 10 p.m. Thursday and will last through 10 a.m. Sunday. Residents in flood zones are asked to evacuate by 10 a.m. Friday.
Volunteers with the Student Conservation Association’s Massachusetts AmeriCorps program were on hand Thursday to fill up to 2,000 sandbags for residents to prepare for the flooding that is expected.
The storm is expected to hit early Friday morning and persist into Saturday morning.