60 cars parked in Gloucester lot damaged by high tides during storm
GLOUCESTER — It was to be a safe harbor for vehicles ordered off this city’s streets by a parking ban triggered by Thursday’s fierce snowstorm. But Vanessa Lucido and some 60 other owners are learning Friday there was no escaping an agitated Atlantic Ocean.
During astronomically high tides, storm-strengthened waves estimated by eyewitnesses to be 4 feet high rushed into the parking lot next to Gloucester High School Thursday, inundating every vehicle with such force that windshields and windows were shattered.
Lucido, who was staying with friends as she celebrated her birthday, moved her 2010 Volkswagen Jetta to the lot only to rush back after being alerted by her boyfriend that water was flowing in.
“I rushed down here and there was 4 feet of water,’’ Lucido said while standing next to her Jetta, which was probably going to be totaled by her insurance company. “I panicked and I swore a lot — but there was nothing I could do.’’
As she spoke, Lucido was reaching into her car, attempting to recover whatever personal items she could, only to discover each was fully encased by ice, including a $5 bill she had stashed near the dashboard.
Cars had broken windows and water damage in a parking lot that flooded during yesterday’s blizzard at Gloucester High School.
Lucido glanced toward the hood of her car and said with a laugh, “At least I put my windshield wipers up!’’
A lifelong resident of this Cape Ann city, Lucido said she had never seen a powerful storm surge like the one that swallowed up her car.
Catherine Edgerton, who lives on a hill above the school, recalled with astonishment how fast and how much water flowed into the school lot, which is positioned with the Annisquam River on one side and Gloucester Harbor on the other.
“The water came so fast, it looked like an oil slick,’’ she said. “People said water was coming up through their bathtubs!’’
The water has since disappeared, and several other car owners told the Globe they expected their insurance companies will declare their vehicles to be a total loss.
