North Attleborough, Massachusetts, was among the communities hit hardest by the heavy rain that washed across the region Monday night, with flood water leading to road closures, power outages and even water-logged homes.
After touring the damage in North Attleborough and Leominster, Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency Tuesday night.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
Officials with the Bristol County town held a news conference on Tuesday morning to give an update on their response to the flood event. The town activated its Emergency Operations Center on Monday night and also declared a state of emergency over the situation.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our >News Headlines newsletter.
The town reported around 200 homes with flood damage following Monday's rain event. Fire crews responded to 145 calls for service, mostly for issues related to all the water and flooding.
Later Tuesday, town officials warned residents to avoid walking in standing water, as it could be contaminated. The heavy rainfall caused several sewage systems in town to be surcharged.
"We had a significant amount of undermining of roadways, a number of locations that were temporarily blocked and a number of residents who ignored the blocked areas, and decided to drive their cars through there anyways, getting them stuck, making our work more difficult," Director of Public Works Mark Hollowell said during Tuesday's update outside of the police department.
Crews were working to make repairs on roads Tuesday, as they eyed the potential for more wet weather on Wednesday.
The town's power company had to deal with electrical issues and power outages amid the flooding, but service was restored as of 11 a.m. Monday, according to MEMA.