Coastal areas evacuate, Boston transit shuts down

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) -- Gov. Deval Patrick says Massachusetts appears to be weathering the storm reasonably well, but he also warns there are still several hours of strong winds and heavy surf ahead.

Patrick told a briefing at the state's emergency management headquarters on Monday that there have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the storm.

More than 200,000 customers were without power by mid-afternoon, with more outages expected.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in portions of the southeastern Massachusetts communities of Fall River and Dartmouth. It was not known how many homes were affected. Some voluntary evacuations were advised in other coastal areas and some shore roads were closed.

Officials say they will be keeping a close eye on high tide in south-facing coastal areas at about 8 tonight.