Other
Tasks for the board, and advice for residents, when a hurricane, nor’easter, tornado, snowstorm, or ice storm is headed for the neighborhood.
The association is not the water company. This page is not a boil-water notice and it is not instructions for running a water system. A drinking-water question goes to the water system. If a break is flooding a house or a road, call 911. For fire, injury, or a crime in progress, use Emergencies.
Board tasks Storm types Homes Boats Roads
Shared property
These are practical tasks for association property. They are not a promise to clear every street, move every boat, or restore power or water.
Watch the National Weather Service and Worcester County alerts. Hurricanes, nor’easters, tornado watches, snow, and ice all belong on that watch.
When the neighborhood may be affected, send a short note on the mailing list. Say what is coming and when. Ask boat owners to tend their own boats.
Know which board members will be in town and how to reach them. If it is still safe, look at the dock, the boat yard, the pool, and other shared grounds. Note loose furniture and anything already damaged.
Stay inside. Do not drive the neighborhood to inspect it while the wind, floodwater, or ice is still on.
Injuries, fire, and a wire down in the road are 911 calls. The board does not take those calls in place of the fire company or the police.
Look at association property: the dock and piers, the pool, the boat yard, the entrance, and shared grounds. Photograph damage and keep a short note for the next meeting and for the association’s insurance.
If a tree or debris is on association property and no wire is in it, arrange to clear it. Stay away from any wire.
Tell neighbors what you found, once you actually know. A mailing-list note or a news item is enough.
The board does not haul private boats, enter private homes, or restore power or drinking water.
County roads belong to Worcester County. A water outage belongs to the water system. A downed line belongs to 911 and the power company.
Damage on a private house or a private boat is the owner’s claim. Tell a board member when the dock, the pool, or other shared property is damaged.
What can reach this river
Wind, storm surge, and heavy rain, usually with days of notice. Use that time. Secure the house and the boat before the last clear day, not while the storm is arriving.
If Worcester County orders an evacuation, follow it. Once the wind is up, stay inside.
A nor’easter can flood the waterfront without being a hurricane. Wind piles water into the St. Martin River, often on top of a high tide, and the rain lasts.
Streets near the water, the dock, and low yards can go under. Move cars off low ground early. Do not drive through floodwater. Stay off a dock or bulkhead that is under water.
A watch means conditions can produce a tornado. A warning means one has been seen or indicated, and you should shelter now. Go to an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows.
If you are outside or on a boat, get into a sturdy building. Do not wait for a board announcement. These warnings are short.
Snow is a travel and heat problem. Stay home if the roads are not cleared. Keep a way to stay warm if the power goes out, and know where the shutoff is in case a pipe freezes.
Clear your own walk and driveway. Do not push snow into the street so it blocks a neighbor.
Ice brings falling limbs, downed lines, and roads that look wet and are not. Stay off the dock, the pier, and the pool deck when they are iced. Do not walk under loaded trees.
A wire on the ground, or a tree resting on a wire, is a 911 call. Leave it where it is.
Residents
Bring in or tie down furniture, grills, trash cans, and anything else the wind can throw. Charge phones. Keep a flashlight and a battery radio.
Tell a neighbor if you are leaving. A generator runs outdoors, away from doors and windows, never in a garage.
If the house or garage has taken tide or rain water before, move what you can upstairs or onto shelves before the wind and the tide arrive.
In a hard freeze, open cabinet doors on outside walls and let faucets drip. If a pipe bursts, shut the water off at the house. The association does not thaw private pipes.
Before a hurricane or a flooding nor’easter, fill the tank and park off low ground, not under a weak tree.
Do not drive through floodwater. After ice, assume shaded streets are still slick.
Photograph damage to your own house for your insurer. The board cannot file that claim.
If the water looks, smells, or tastes wrong, or if you have no water, call the water system. That call does not go to the board.
Marina
The slip holder is responsible for the boat. The board does not haul it, add lines, or stay with it during a storm.
Before a hurricane or a nor’easter with coastal flooding, take the boat out if you can. If it stays, add extra lines with enough slack for the water to rise, protect the lines from chafe, and take off canvas and loose gear. Lines that are too tight can hang the boat on the pilings when the water comes up. Do not stay aboard.
After the storm, look at the lines before you step onto the dock. If the dock or pier itself is damaged, tell a board member. A boat that is damaging the dock may be removed under the marina rules.
In snow or ice, stay off the dock. Frozen lines can part, and an iced pier is not a place to check on a boat.
Getting around
Do not drive through floodwater. The depth is hard to see, and the road may be gone underneath. In snow and ice, slow down. Shaded streets stay slick after the sun is out.
A tree or limb across a road is a reason to turn around, unless you are sure there is no wire in it. A downed line is 911. For an outage with no wire down, call the power company. Those numbers are on the Emergencies page.
The board can look at debris on association property after the storm, when it is safe. County roads are Worcester County. The association does not run the water mains under the streets and does not plow or close the public roads.
