Southeastern Mass. battered by Sandy's wind, rain

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WHDH) -- Hurricane Sandy is stirring up a lot of trouble for communities exposed to the ocean. Conditions have gotten progressively worse in southeastern Massachusetts as the hours have gone on. By mid-morning Monday, winds in Buzzard Bay hit 40 miles per hour.

There's an area in Dartmouth that a lot of emergency personnel were watching closely because it is not a protected area.

A lot of homeowners up and down the Massachusetts coast said they were very concerned. The early hours of Hurricane Sandy were already worse than what they had seen with Hurricane Irene - and that doesn’t compare to how bad Sandy could potentially get.

The mayor of New Bedford said that they closed the hurricane barriers at 5 a.m. Monday morning in preparation for the worst.

Along the coast, residents battened down the hatches in preparation for Sandy as waves churned and wind pick up speed and strength.

The effects are expected to get worse when the high tide comes in around 11:30.