SANDWICH, MASS. (WHDH) - Relentless coastal flooding accompanied by a major winter storm wreaked havoc in parts of Cape Cod on Tuesday, including in Sandwich, where a home collapsed onto the beach when its foundation failed.
Rushing floodwaters compromised the foundation of a home on Salt Marsh Road, leaving its deck collapsed and garage and house off the ground.
The home was previously damaged during a storm back in December.
Demolition crews reduced the home to a pile of rubble on Wednesday after it was condemned and deemed uninhabitable.
“When the house was built, there was probably about 40 feet of beach in front of it,” neighbor Michael Pottey said. “It has just kept eroding back and it got damaged last year and then this year, it got undermined and the deck collapsed. And with this coming tide, it undermined the foundation and now the whole house is collapsed.”
Pottey moved to Salt Marsh road in 1995. In the time since, he has kept a close eye on the continued erosion.
“It’s frightening how much beach we’re losing all of a sudden,” he said. “But we will truck sand in. We will do what they call core envelopes and soft solution.”
This is just one of three houses on Salt Marsh Road that suffered extensive damage during the nor’easter.
The building commissioner told 7NEWS that he has spoken with the other two homeowners and encouraged them to devise a plan with their insurance companies because the houses will probably have to be demolished as well.
Pottey, a former engineer, said the amount of damage is concerning because he lives in the area year-round.
“This is the only place I have,” he said. “This is what I call home. I live here, I’ve raised my family here. It’s difficult to think what’s going to happen.”
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