Sandy Means No Schools or Boats

Update, Oct. 29, 4:50pm: Governor announced at his press conference that Martha's Vineyard will be the first in Massachusetts to experience the storm.

At a meeting with the Island’s Emergency Management personnel today it was decided that all Island schools would be closed tomorrow and Tuesday.

The Steamship Authority also weighed in that they would be keeping boats on a trip-by-trip basis through the day on Sunday and cancelling all boats on Monday. The Island Home and the Katama will be tied up in Woods Hole and the Nantucket will remain in Vineyard Haven.

The VTA will be running all necessary vans for medical/life sustaining trips and the rest of their buses will run their regular routes until it is deemed unsafe.

The forecast is calling for Sandy to hit the south coast at approximately 2 am Monday morning and we will see sustained winds at 30 – 40 mph for 12-18 hours with gusts between 60 mph and 80 mph.

Coastal flooding is expected – especially along the south and east coasts of the Island. Severe beach erosion is also likely and may drastically affect the coastline. There will be three high tide cycles to watch –  and surges are expected to be three to four feet. MEMA also predicted that barrier beaches would breach.

Downed trees and widespread power outages are expected. Currently, there are no road-closings, but residents are advised to shelter at home.

Those living in low-lying areas may wish to evacuate, but should do so before the this evening as the storm will arrive in the middle of the night and after that point everyone is advised to stay off the roads. The Red Cross will be opening one shelter at the Chilmark Community Center as of 6 pm Sunday night and has the capacity to open more if there is prolonged power outages after the storm.

Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency yesterday and will hold an additional press conference at 4:30 pm Sunday afternoon. Island residences can expect to receive an automated telephone call with further information from the Emergency Management personnel sometime Sunday around 5 pm.

We will continue to update you as information becomes available.