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Scituate residents digging out following blizzard, flooding

SCITUATE, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) - The South Shore was the hardest hit by the storm and power in some places isn't expected until Tuesday.

Scituate is now under a state of emergency. The town says there are 50 blocked or partially parked streets that still need to be cleared.

Over the weekend, mandatory evacuations were ordered for the coastline. In all, 46 people were rescued by the National Guard because of flooding and more than 250 people were staying at 18 emergency shelters. Residents say the call to leave came just in time.

Sunday, eight rapid assessment teams combed through the damage in many coastal communities.
    
MEMA officials say more than 70 damage reports have already been submitted, many of which included widespread beach erosion and extensive flooding.

The American Red Cross has opened three emergency shelters on the Cape. One is located at Falmouth High School, while the others are at the Dennis-Yarmouth and Nauset Regional high schools.

Volunteers are providing a safe place to stay for hundreds who don't have heat or need special assistance. The Red Cross expects the shelters to stay open Monday and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the power problems on the South Shore are affecting the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth. The plant is now shut down and safety systems are running on backup generators.
    
Pilgrim initially lost its "off-site" power supply on Friday night. Service was restored Sunday morning, but it went out again a few hours later.
    
Officials say there are no public safety concerns and they believe the off-site power problem is weather related.