National Guard Evacuates Flooded Coastal Communities

SCITUATE (CBS/AP) -- The fears of coastal flooding became a reality in areas such as Quincy, Scituate and Rockport. The National Guard is assisting local police to evacuate some homes affected by flooding caused by the blizzard.

In Scituate, high tide at 3 a.m. brought huge waves that pushed water up onto streets. Several feet of standing water covered coastal neighborhoods before dawn.

Raw Video: Scituate Residents Evacuated

Peter Judge, a spokesman for the state emergency management agency, says about a dozen homes in coastal areas of Scituate were evacuated by early morning. Those evacuations continued throughout the morning; the fire chief estimated about 80 people were helped from their homes.

Two homes on flooded Seventh Avenue in Scituate caught fire. It is believed rising floodwaters reached an electrical unit in one of the homes, sparking the fire.

Beach erosion is a real concern with this storm. Buoy reports a couple miles off shore reported 20 to 30 foot seas. The next high tide is at 4:50 p.m., but the wind will turn offshore, so it won't be as bad as Monday morning.

In Quincy, residents on at least six streets in the Hough's Neck section of the city were evacuated from their homes because of flooding, and several coastal roads were closed.

The water was 3-4 feet deep in some spots. Residents tell WBZ-TV's Jim Armstrong that they haven't seen storm flooding like this in 20 years.

MBTA buses were brought in to take the evacuated families to a temporary shelter at Quincy High School..

WBZ-TV's Jim Armstrong reports from Quincy.

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