Flooding

Two Months After Severe Flooding, Clean Up Continues at Norwood Hospital

New surveillance videos show the moment the water rushed inside the building on June 28

NBC Universal, Inc.

More than two months after a torrential rainstorm dropped nearly a half-foot of water on a Massachusetts community, flooding Norwood Hospital and forcing it to evacuate its patients and temporarily close, new surveillance videos released Wednesday offers a glimpse into the dramatic moment the water rushed inside.

One video shows dark brown water rapidly rushing through a door, before ripping it off the hinges and filling a hallway as a chair smacks against a wall and a hand sanitizer dispenser falls over.

A second, equally dramatic video, captured the moment water spilled into a shipping room, flooding it in a matter of seconds and tossing around dozens of boxes.

"It looked like something out of 'Titanic,'" hospital employee Manoach Sigue said in an interview in June. "I tried to close the door and then a couple minutes later the doors broke and then waves of water was just coming through."

In a statement, the hospital said, in part, "We are working day and night to assess the damage and formulate a plan and timeline for next steps. Based on the extent of the flooding, we need to check every piece of equipment, every outlet, every inch of drywall…."

About 150 patients were safely evacuated after the hospital flooded on June 28.

The water also flooded a parking lot, ruining several cars.

The hospital has worked to reassign the hundreds of impacted employees to other health care facilities it owns in the region.

It remains unclear when the hospital will reopen.

Norwood Hospital remains closed after water poured into the basement Sunday, damaging the building's mechanical room and cutting off power.
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