NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - Emergency work is underway on Plum Island after part of the reservation terrace was washed away by high tides Wednesday afternoon.
Residents say the erosion happened in a matter of hours. Chunks of a broken road have fallen onto the beach as crews worked to protect the people living there.
“They brought the jersey barriers in,” Lela Wright explained. “There’s no road left.”
Wright’s home sits just feet from where the road used to be.
“I left the house at 1 o’clock, some waves hitting the rocks. Nothing crazy,” she said. “I got home at 4:30, half the road was missing.”
7NEWS was told that the rest was taken out by the overnight tide.
On Thursday, the city of Newburyport worked to protect the homes that were now exposed to the elements.
“They actually brought some stone in and filled in some of the gaps,” Wright said.
Temporary water lines have also been connected to the impacted houses.
Owners said erosion and flooding have been issues for quite some time but, they have been difficult problems to address because the city is in charge of the street and the Department of Conservation and Recreation is in charge of the beach.
Newburyport’s mayor said that the city is eager to begin work that will hopefully serve as a long-term solution. Until that happens, the rocks and barriers brought in this week will have to do.
“The roads been washed out, and this soil could washout, and the next thing to go would be my house,” Wright said. “Hopefully, this will prevent that from happening.”
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