City: Clear Leaves from Drains Before Storm

– Allison Goldsberry

The city is asking residents to keep drains clear prior to an anticipated wind and rain storm early in the week.

A message went out on Friday afternoon asking people to refrain from blowing or sweeping leaves into the street. Residents are also asked to remove leaves that are covering drains and not to block drains with their cars.

“We are anticipating that the approaching storm will have a major impact on our area early next week. We are urging residents not to blow or sweep leaves into the street. Leaves will prevent proper drainage of water which can lead to flooding. We are expecting severe rains during this storm. Residents are also urged not to their park vehicles blocking drains. We are also urging residents to remove any existing leaves that might be covering drains before the rain impacts us,” said the message.

According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) website, Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in either the Mid-Atlantic or Southern New England. MEMA said Massachusetts will “likely experience” damaging winds, power outages, and flooding.

The latest details on Sandy are available on the National Hurricane Center website.

According to a Hazardous Weather Outlook report for the area from the National Weather Service, there is “moderate to high confidence” that Sandy will affect Southern New England from Sunday night into the middle of the week. Strong to damaging winds, storm surges, high seas, power outages, and heavy rain are anticipated.