North Shore

‘Much worse than I thought’: Salisbury Beach is a mess after recent storms

Two storms slammed the New England coast last week, wreaking havoc on beach towns like Salisbury.

Drifted sand buries a stairway to the Salisbury Beach State Reservation. Mark Wilson/Boston Globe Staff, File

January 16, 2024

2 minutes to read

A cleanup effort is underway in Salisbury after two wet and windy storms slammed the New England coast last week, eroding sand dunes, flooding streets, and damaging several buildings along the shore.

At least 20 homes in Salisbury were damaged in Saturday’s storm, according to WBZ. The news outlet shared footage showing collapsed and washed-out decks at beachfront homes, as well as debris and seafoam littering the streets.

“We get another hit like that, we’re going to be in big trouble,” Salisbury Selectman Chuck Takesian told WBZ.

“People are very, very concerned,” he added. “We’ve got a whole winter to go through.”

Salisbury, Massachusetts — an hour after high tide water is still seen over the roads along with stuck cars, sea foam and pedestrians in the hazardous conditions. pic.twitter.com/XMNnYZxAGK
— Semper Drone (@SemperDrone) January 13, 2024

Speaking to NBC10 Boston, Dorothy McDonald said her basement flooded with 5 feet of water, destroying the furnace, hot water heater, and washer and dryer.

“It was extremely scary,” McDonald told NBC10 Boston. “I think you just go into overdrive; we went into overdrive and we were trying to figure out what we were trying to get and what we were trying to save, and then all of a sudden I was waist deep and I said, ‘We can’t save anything.’”

The water, she said, looked like a tidal wave coming in.

“We’re lucky that there is no loss of life,” McDonald told NBC10 Boston. “These things can be replaced.”

Boston.com has reached out to Salisbury Fire Chief Scott Carrigan, the director of the town’s Emergency Management Agency, for more information on the storm’s impact. The town is urging any property owners who suffered damage in the storm to contact Salisbury emergency management officials at [email protected].

State Sen. Bruce Tarr, whose district includes Cape Ann and part of the North Shore, paid a visit to Salisbury Beach over the weekend to survey the damage.

“It is much worse than I thought I would see,” he told WHDH during the visit. “We have lost an incredible amount of sand volume on this beach.”

In a follow-up statement posted to social media, Tarr called for immediate action from fellow lawmakers to address storm damage along the coast. Those efforts, he said, will require “focus and collaboration” among local, state, and federal officials, as well as property owners and non-governmental organizations.

“We need to respond immediately to stabilize vulnerable dunes, homes, and infrastructure, and continue to move forward with long-term strategies to deal with major storms, sea level rise, and erosion,” Tarr said.

Salisbury residents were similarly eager to find solutions.

“I’ve got to believe in the state,” homeowner Phil Harty told WHDH. “I’ve got to believe that there’s going to be some resources coming. My biggest concern is it tends to be slow, and it can’t be slow.”