High tide, rain causes flooding in Quincy

QUINCY, Mass. (WHDH) -- Many towns were trying to dry out Tuesday morning after high tides and rains left them under water on Monday.

Quincy residents say water started flooding their homes in the middle of the night and there was nothing they could do.

In Nanci Reilly’s basement everything, including a refrigerator, was floating in four feet of water.

“And this is all salt water by the way, it’s not even fresh,” said Reilly. “Well I called the insurance company. I’m waiting on a call back to see what I have to do…I’ve got to call the oil guy and see because I think my burner is gone.”

The same was for other homes in the neighborhood. Heating systems, washers and dryers were all under water.

“The fire department came through, turned off the electricity to all the buildings because there was water in the basement and the problem with that is all of the pumps are electric,” said John Hogan, a landlord. “Now they just flooded even worse.”

And in at least one case, 25 years of memory were lost to the water. Jean Griffin watched as her belongings, including photographs of her children, were soaked and submerged. Her basement was filled with up to six feet of water.

The damage was not limited to basements. Eric Kenney said his car was destroyed when his driveway flooded.

DPW crews showed up Monday morning and installed pumps and cleared storm drains.

In addition to rain, and a high tide, neighbors suspect gates that normally hold back the surging tide were not closed in time.

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said it is unclear what happened.

“We gotta look at everything. We’ve got to see if there’s a particular drain line that perhaps is blocked, was it purely the tide gate timing? We’re not sure,” said Koch.

The city has approved up to $1 million to improve the tide gates so the ocean won’t come flowing into people’s homes. But for residents cleaning up without heat, hot water or power -- it won't be soon enough.