Police in Hampton, New Hampshire, are preparing for what they say will be major coastal flooding after declaring an emergency during the deluge of last week’s storm.
The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning for today in this area from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It applies to the southern New Hampshire coastline up to Portsmouth.
The NWS also confirmed on social media that the water level in Portland, Maine has exceeded its all time record of 14.17 feet set in 1978. The water level at the Portland Tide gauge registered 14.57 feet MLLW. Records at the
Portland gauge extend back to 1912.
High tide is at 12:20 Saturday afternoon, and because it’s an astronomical high tide, the water will come in a foot higher than it did on Wednesday. Officials are worried about compounding damage as well as public safety.
As of 11 a.m., flooding was already being reported in coastal areas from Maine all the way down to New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. And in Connecticut, downtown Mystic is almost completely under water.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills warned people not to venture outside on the roads along the coast.
Maine State Police announced that exit 7 off 295 in Portland will be closed and are asking drivers to seek alternate routes.
Police in Portland, Maine, shared a similar warning.
Police in Wells, Maine, posted a video showing the impact of the storm on Eldridge Road at Webhannet. They have also posted a person traveling via kayak through the flooded streets.
Jon Mitchell, the mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, posted the conditions that Fort Tabor was in on social media during the storm.
“This is why we close the walkways and the fort during storms like this.” he wrote.
Narragansett, Rhode Island was also seeing waves crash over the sea wall on Ocean Road.
Police in Salisbury have closed multiple roads due to flooding before high tide.
Firefighters in Duxbury are monitoring the flooding as high tide approaches the area.
Quincy police announced the closing of Rockland Street at Spring Street due to the flooding as well as Squantum Causeway after vehicles became disabled while trying to pass through the area.
Back in Hampton, officials closed all beach access by 10 a.m. due to flooding conditions. Water had already begun cresting over the seawall as of 11 a.m. Portions of Route 1 were also shut down due to flooding.
“We just want people to be safe. If you find yourself stuck in your home, please call 911. Call the police and fire department directly but we’ll have a number of vehicles, the Rockingham County Sherriff’s Dept. is loaning us on of their high-water vehicles, so we’ll have two of those in operation.” said Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno.
“We’re really doing everything we can to ensure safety during this event. We do need the public’s help though and we’re just asking people not to participate in any activities that could potentially cause them harm which puts other people including the first responders into harm’s way.” he added.
