Parts of South Shore could be without power for days after storm barrels through region

NORWELL, Mass. — Several South Shore communities could be without power for days after Monday’s powerful storm.

Residents in Norwell and nearly all of Scituate remained in the dark for much of the day.

Scituate earlier texted residents that it could take three days to get power back on.

Utility companies say that the damage is so extensive from downed trees that it will take not hours, but days before it’s back on.

In Scituate, the storm uprooted trees like twigs and took out power lines, knocking out electricity to hundreds of thousands. According to MEMA, thousands of people will remain without power Tuesday morning, including:

• 92% in Scituate – that’s more than 8,600 customers
• 70% in Norwell – that’s another 3,200 customers

And because of all that damage and loss of power Scituate, Cohasset, Norwell, and Pembroke all canceled school on Tuesday. The Hanson Middle School and Indian Head Elementary School will also be closed due to continued power outages in the area.

Parts of South Shore could be without power for days after storm barrels through region

National Grid and Eversource have emergency crews working through the night.

“We were all sitting in the room so we were like, ‘Ahhh!’” said Stephanie Higgins from Norwell.

A tree came crashing down on her home just after 10 a.m.

“One fell today right on the roof and a nice limb went right through the roof,” she said.

In the back of her home, limbs and branches covered the deck. The branch that went through the roof was still wedged in there.

Strong winds knocked out power to homes and businesses alike, including traffic signals, creating massive traffic tie-ups at major intersections across the South Shore.

“Traffic is very, very bad traffic,” said Gus Mohammed, who works in Norwell.

The intersection and traffic lights at busy Queen Anne’s Corner caused major backups and delays at rush hour.

Some towns were lucky, however.

In towns like Hingham, the lights remained on and the power never went out. But right across the road in Norwell, it was dark.

“No, we got an estimated time it’s [the power] coming back on Thursday,” said Henry Rosario, a Norwell resident.

Taking it in stride and happy this wasn’t snow, Higgins says there is a price to pay to live along the coast.

“The South Shore gets hit hard with these storms. A lot of trees. They look beautiful, but they affect people.” said Higgins.

But with the power not set to come back on in some neighborhoods until noon on Thursday, it’s going to be tough few days for some South Shore residents.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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