COHASSET, MASS. (WHDH) - A massive cleanup effort carried into its second day on the South Shore on Thursday after a powerful nor’easter roared through the region, downing trees and branches and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of Bay State residents.
Utility crews were out in force in Duxbury, where many homeowners were still dealing with debris and downed wires.
Among them was Matthew Tosca, who recalled when a massive tree came crashing down on his house as his family was riding out the storm.
“It was crazy,” he told 7NEWS. “We were just making some coffee to start the day and we heard a big crack and a boom … Luckily (the tree) didn’t hit any of the bedrooms and everybody was OK and we got everyone out OK.”
Power outages remain a major concern for residents on the South Shore.
“I was laying in bed and I felt like the tug like the house was going to move,” said Cohasset resident Bill Charron.
That feeling was a massive tree falling outside the historic home he shares with his wife Ann.
“The National Grid supervisor was coming through this morning and when he saw the mess here, and the fact that that pole is snapped and the generator is hanging, the transformer, he says it may be Saturday [before power is restored],” Charron said.
As of Thursday evening, MEMA says the town of Cohasset remains 78 percent without power. Nearby Norwell is showing 69 percent of customers without power, Lakeville has 99 percent of customers in the dark, and about 97 percent of Plympton residents were without power.
Generators could be heard humming in the most-impacted communities.
Spokespeople for local utility companies are urging residents to remain patient and stress they’re working around the clock to get the power back on.
However, storm-related emergency calls have been pouring in and first responders say the debris scattered all over the South Shore is making their response all the more difficult.
“If we have emergency calls, it’s tough getting around at this point,” one Dixbury firefighter told 7NEWS.
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