Authorities across New England were facing major coastal flooding on Saturday.
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Water was a problem on Saturday, as record high tides hit the Northeast, flooding some homes in Maine and New Hampshire.
The coastal Northeast was pounded by 1 to 2 inches of rain in the morning, and a storm surge amplified what was already the month’s highest tide, National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Cempa said. In Portland, Maine, a gauge recorded a 14.57-foot difference between high and average low tide, topping a prior record of 14.17 feet set in 1978.
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With the astronomical high tide Saturday afternoon, officials were worried about compounding damage, as well as public safety.
As of 11 a.m., flooding had already been reported in coastal areas from Maine all the way down to New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
In Connecticut, downtown Mystic was almost completely under water at one point, and the public was asked to avoid the area because of the flooding.
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In Maine, a fishing vessel ran aground early Saturday morning in Cape Elizabeth, just as the powerful storm system was arriving.
A mayday call was issued shortly after midnight, the U.S. Coast Guard told NBC10 Boston affiliate News Center Maine. All four people aboard the Tara Lynn II, a 50-foot boat, were rescued.
Later Saturday, Gov. Janet Mills warned people not to venture outside on the roads along the coast, saying anyone who must travel should avoid the coastline and be cautious.
"Never walk through flowing water, drive through flooded areas, or drive around road barriers," the wrote on X.
Maine State Police announced that exit 7 off 295 in Portland would be closed until further notice, asking drivers to seek alternate routes.
Police in Portland, Maine, shared a similar warning, saying they were expecting unprecedented storm surges and flooding, with the worst expected at noon.
"Do not under any circumstances, drive through flooded roads," they wrote.
Police in Wells, Maine, posted a video showing the impact of the storm on Eldridge Road at Webhannet. They also posted video of 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 closed multiple roads due to flooding before high tide.
Firefighters in Duxbury were monitoring the flooding as high tide approached 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.
There were heavy winds and large waves across the North Shore on Saturday morning. In Gloucester, the severe flooding shut down roads. Some drivers did not heed the warnings and heard about it from police.
In Revere, Mills Avenue was completely covered in water before high tide, and in Lynn, waves crashed over the sea wall covering the pedestrian esplanade and shutting down Lynn Shore Drive. Locals were out taking pictures and taking in the powerful storm.
“Pretty scary, I’m trying to get to Nahant. I don’t think I can do that. I saw that Hampton was going to get hit really bad but I didn’t hear about Lynn. Police are blocking off the whole Lynn Shore Drive,” one woman said.
Hampton did get hit.
Forty miles north of Lynn, trees toppled homes on North Shore Road there.
Wheel loaders were brought in to clean up debris under the sunshine after the onslaught of rain.
Concrete sea walls were dismantled on North Beach.
Officials had 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.
The destructive storm left damage from New Hampshire to Marblehead, Massachusetts, but there was beauty to behold after the system moved through.
Rainbows were seen in Boston along the Charles River, on the Esplanade, and greeting surfers on the coast of Winthrop.
