With warmer weather on its way, last Thursday’s “bomb cyclone’’ feels like a distant memory to some. But for others, damage and devastation are ongoing problems.
In Winthrop, more than 50 people have been displaced from their homes, said Terence Delehanty, the interim town manager. The town is working with state and federal agencies to arrange short-term housing for people who need it, but so far nothing has been secured.
Delehanty said homeowners were initially affected by flood waters and heaters that broke during the storm. More recently, the damage has been compounded as previously frozen pipes start to warm up and then burst.
“It’s a much harder battle for the individuals who have had a significant loss,’’ Delehanty said.
Winthrop Middle School also had a burst sprinkler pipe, but the worst structure damage for the town was to its fire station on Shirley Street. The chimney was knocked off the building by heavy wind, causing carbon monoxide levels to rise and set off alarms. The carbon monoxide issue has been resolved, but the chimney still needs full repair, Delehanty said.
One of the town’s fire engines was also disabled while trying to put out a fire in the storm. The truck may be totaled, Delehanty said, and the cost estimate to replace it is $545,000.
Provincetown also experienced significant flooding during high tide on the day of the storm, and it’s still working to pump water from its streets and sewer system.
“We had significant flooding throughout town — much more than I’ve seen in my time,’’ Provincetown Public Works director Richard Waldo said.
The damage done by flood waters is mostly to private residences, confined to basements and, in some cases, the first floor.
“It did significant damage to many properties,’’ Waldo said. “Some personal residences could see a total loss.’’
But the town had some messes of its own to clean up. Provincetown Town Hall was flooded, but Waldo said it was handled quickly by equipment brought in to pump out the water.
The sewer system was also damaged from excess flood waters. Repairs are ongoing, but almost finished — “about 95 percent,’’ Waldo said. Overall, he estimated damage will cost well over $1 million to repair.
Like Winthrop, Revere is also dealing with an aftermath that includes burst pipes throughout the town, said Revere Fire Chief Christopher Bright.
“We’re just trying to regroup from it,’’ Bright said. “It was a rough storm.’’
But Bright said he is hopeful that as warmer temperatures move in, things will get easier.
“I would imagine the cleanup is well begun, and warming up like it is, they will be able to move a lot of stuff that was frozen,’’ he said.
In other areas, like Chatham and Nantucket, things were not as bad as the forecast might have predicted.
“Overall, we didn’t really receive a lot of damage as a result of the storm,’’ Nantucket Police Lieutenant Angus MacVicar said.
The town did have minor damage to two of its piers, but he estimated it will cost less than $10,000 to repair.
In Chatham, Tom Temple, the director of public works, said the area has mostly recovered from flooding that caused streets to remain closed throughout the weekend, especially in the Morris Island area.
While roads have been cleared and the town’s job is mostly finished, Temple said homeowners may have some work to do.
“We don’t have much done in terms of private properties,’’ Temple said. “There’s a lot of cleanup companies coming in and starting to pump out those areas.’’
Laney Ruckstuhl can be reached at laney.ruckstuhl@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @laneyruckstuhl.