Click here to see more photos of the flooding and its aftermath
The combination of high tide and torrential rain led to flash floods across North Shore communities Saturday morning, hitting parts of Lynn particularly hard.
The downpour flooded Munroe Street and shoved parked vehicles onto sidewalks and against the sides of buildings. Barber Pablo Medina spent Saturday mopping water off his shop’s hardwood floor. A new $1,300 barber chair still in its cardboard box sat sodden in a corner.
“It’s incredible,” Medina said, pointing to a high water mark three feet above the sidewalk outlined by mulch carried along by the torrent.
The early morning deluge and flash flood inundated the Lynnway, Commercial Street, Boston Street, Alley Street and scores of side streets, bringing Saturday morning traffic to a standstill and flooding property, according to City Public Works Commissioner Andrew Hall.
“The Lynnway was totally impassable. I haven’t seen Boston Street flood like this in 12 years,” Hall said.
The city worked to restore power where it was lost, particularly along Boston Street and West Lynn.
Anasthalie Alcide was one of many residents on Munroe Street who couldn’t reach their cars through the knee-high waters that flooded local buildings and pushed vehicles onto the sidewalk.
“I don’t know how this happened,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
While trying to drive to work on Granite Street in Lynn, resident Robin Chipman’s car was flooded with water and stalled.
“As soon as I opened my car doors water started rushing in,” she said.
Chipman, with help from Ivan Marquez and other residents, pushed her car to nearby parking lot where they were able to jump start it.
“This is crazy,” Marquez said. “Hopefully there isn’t too much damage.”
A team of DPW workers were clearing drains on Boston Street and working with G/J towing to clear cars and debris. Workers also had to tow and drag Lynn Fire Department’s Engine 10 out of the water after it stalled during earlier rescues.
Commercial Street and surrounding roads were also flooded in the early morning Saturday. Some drivers braved the waters to cross the area while others, like local taxi driver Jonel Sanon, turned around to find alternate routes.
“[Flood waters] were so much higher earlier, it’s not worth the risk,” he said.
The rising waters lifted manhole covers out of position on Commercial Street. Firefighters returned to the scene to replace the covers as water rushed through the street openings.
The heavy rain came from a fairly typical but very slow-moving thunderstorm, according to National Weather Service spokesman Bill Simpson.
“The radar indicated it may have rained four inches in an hour,” he said.
This is a developing story. Itemlive.com will update this post regularly.