I was in the basement cleaning up the mess from my oil tank that had ruptured two days before when I heard sirens screeching. It was late afternoon on June 28. They stopped for a minute or two then screeched again. And again, I wondered what was happening, and thought it must be something big for so many emergency vehicles to be blaring for so long. 

It must have something to do with the storm, I reasoned, as I felt my way to the cellar stairs, ankle deep in water. Before the lights went out, I watched as water pushed through the steel door to my basement. I made the mistake of opening it to check that the large drain was open, which it was, and the entire build-up in the cellarway pushed its way in, soaking me in the process. As I gathered my shovel and brooms the lights went out. I would not learn what happened until the following day.

I was still reeling from all the problems I experienced over the past month – downed trees, plumbing problems and cleanup needed to facilitate the installation of a new oil tank – and was feeling a bit sorry for myself when I learned that theirens were emergency vehicles brought in to transport patients from Norwood Hospital to other facilities. I saw photographs of cars floating in the hospital parking lot and learned that the entire basement that housed all of the electrical and mechanical systems was under water and no longer usable. I learned quite quickly that there were many people worse off than me.

Two trapped employees were rescued by Norwood firefighters from Ladder 1. Fire departments from Canton, Sharon, Westwood, Foxboro, Stoughton, Needham, Randolph, Walpole, Norfolk, Millis, Mansfield, Hanson, Abington, Whitman, Brockton, East Bridgewater, Hansen, and Norwell were all called in to help with evacuation efforts. The Lorusso Building suffered the most damage, but the entire hospital had to be evacuated – in all, more than 150 patients, 100 that evening and the rest the following day. An inspection was made and it was determined that the hospital was not fit for occupancy and temporarily closed. 

 

While the hospital was the hardest hit, it was by no means the only one. The Heritage Baptist Church on Washington Street sustained considerable damage. The flooding originated from the back parking lot behind the building. Heritage Pastor Thomas Krampert said that the pressure was so strong that it broke the glass doors in the back, flooded into the building and the entire basement was submerged from floor to ceiling. 

A number of other businesses experienced flood damage as did many homeowners. In a video address to the townspeople, Town Manager Tony Mazzucco said that business damage was still being reported and some homeowners were reporting damages of $50,000 or more. As I listened to Mazzucco’s video, I heard another sweet sweeper working on our street. In the 50-plus years I’ve lived here, they have seldom visited our little street more than once a year. It was the third day in a row they were here. 

I spoke with Mark Ryan, Norwood Town Engineer and Director of Public Works (DPW), and asked what role the DPW played in helping with the aftermath of the storm. He said their efforts were intense.

“Sewer and drain crews were dispatched to assist flooded areas,” Ryan said. “The roads were littered with a lot of debris – rocks, stone, mulch and the like, and we needed to get the roads so they were passable.”

The day after the storm, the DPW cleared the ‘heavy stuff’ with the street sweepers. Ryan said that because of the amount of cleanup required, the town had to hire a sweeper company to provide additional sweepers. A crew was also sent to Norwood Hospital with a high-capacity pump on Monday. Even the barricades that were set up for downtown dining floated away and had to be rescued and repositioned.

My street suffered incredible damage. Large pieces of pavement were carried away as the water rushed downhill. I wondered how many other streets in town had similar damage. 

“Anywhere the pavement was compromised is being worked on, especially those that have created unsafe conditions on the roads or drainage structures,” Ryan said.

He said if we continue to have major thunderstorms such as this one, the town may need to revisit the 2004 Meadowbrook Drainage Study which addressed the flooding problems on Central, East, Vernon and Nahatan Streets. 

We are seeing an increase in heavy rain events because of climate change. I read somewhere  that according to data kept by Blue Hills since the 1800s, the number of 2-inch-plus rainfalls have jumped from an average of one per year to three per year.

Ryan explained that the drain systems in Massachusetts were designed to accommodate 4.6 inches of rain in a 24-hour period – not 90 minutes, which is what Norwood experienced. (Overall, we had nearly 6 inches of rain that day.) 

“There is no storm water system in this world that can handle that volume in that amount of time,” Ryan said.

He suggested that we may have to make an investment in our drain system. That certainly put the inefficiency of my small drains into perspective.

Jim Collins, Superintendent of Norwood Light, said that three sections of Town lost power the night of the storm – 4,000 customers of the 16,000 – due to lightning strikes and downed trees. 

It’s been my experience that power outages are usually restored less than an hour after they occur and I wondered why it took several hours that evening. 

“Trying to get around was difficult because so many people were stuck on the roads,” Collins explained. “I never saw so much water in places where I never saw water before!” 

Fortunately, the new building did not suffer any water damage and all power was restored to residents within three hours.

Two days after the storm, Norwood’s Board of Selectmen approved the establishment of an emergency residential assistance program for residents who are suffering from major property damage due to the storm. Through this emergency program, $180,000 in funding will be made available to those affected by the storm. An additional $320,000 was transferred from the town’s Light Department to the grant program. Individual homeowners who meet the income requirements can receive grants of up to $5,000 in aid.

Norwood declared a State of Emergency at the beginning of July and is looking to obtain additional resources from state and federal officials to further assist the community.

Asked to comment on the economic impact of the storm, Neponset River Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom O’Rourke gave his outlook.

“The economic impact on the town is inestimable,” O’Rourke said. “Norwood Hospital is a significant economic driver for the region ... it’s tough to put a price tag on it. But considering it’s the largest employer in Norwood with 1400 employees, that it purchases products from many area businesses and its employees do business with local restaurants and merchants ... the impact will be significant.” 

Mazzucco has estimated damages to homes could cost $1.5 million and at least the same amount to businesses and non-profits. He said the hospital will likely incur ‘tens of millions of dollars in damage’ and indicated that the town would work with the hospital however it could to get the hospital operational as quickly as possible because ‘one-quarter million people in the region rely on Norwood Hospital.’  

Mazzucco said the hospital will open in phases. In Phase 1, the Emergency Room will be up and running – hopefully in 45 to 60 days. In Phase 2, many of the hospital’s services will be brought back, although not at the level they were prior to the flood. Phase 3 will involve major reconstruction of the Lorusso Building, and that may take as much as three years. 

Thinking about it, as bad as things were, they could have beena lot worse. Lives could have been lost and they weren’t.

Buildings and infrastructure can be repaired and replaced, although the cost will be substantial, over and above any insurance payouts or community relief afforded. The loss of jobs by hospital personnel who were furloughed will be difficult, adding to the high unemployment in the state due to COVID-19. 

There are more than a few beacons of light in this saga. Our outstanding fire department led by Chief George Morrice who, rather than bask in a job well done, credited the strength of the area’s mutual aid system in its response to assist Norwood with fire and rescue apparatus, ambulances, equipment and personnel – 60 mutual aid agencies if I counted correctly. Our outstanding police officers led by Chief William Brooks who said he couldn’t remember a storm that looked like this since 1998. 

Our Town Manager Tony Mazzucco who has shown strong, compassionate leadership in this emergency. Homeowners can thank him for spearheading the effort to set up the emergency residential assistance program to help blunt some of the financial hardship they will incur because of flood damage. And let us not forget our often unsung heroes of the DPW who work tirelessly on our behalf with whatever they are asked to do.  

Twenty-twenty has been a helluva year so far – and it’s only August. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.