Lightning Strikes, Flooding Reported in Massachusetts

Things are slowly getting back to normal at the Franklin, Massachusetts, Police Department after their radio tower took a hit by lightning- and they weren't the only ones who came up close to Mother Nature's ferocity.

"It hit this corner of the house travel down the eve and a bold actually came down after you see that debris hanging," said Bob Saraceno, whose Saugus home was struck by lightning during Tuesday's storms.

Saraceno and his wife Donna are shocked and a bit shaken, but otherwise okay.

"I heard boom, I was at the kitchen sink cooking and then all of my alarms went off in the house," Donna explained. "Oh and then one little piece of found something that was hanging on the wall came flying across into my kitchen."

An electrician fixing the damage to the home's electric circuit says it was a pretty big strike. He thinks the lightning hit this outdoor light and traveled through the home.

Saugus wasn't the only Community was pummeled by that weather. In Newton, thunder, rain and heavy wind turned what was hot and sunny day into a wet mess.

And in Methuen, vehicles drove through about 8 to 10 inches of water after heavy downpours flooded Pleasant Valley and Oak Streets.

But perhaps the biggest problem came in Franklin where the police station's radio tower was struck by lightning, putting communications in a tailspin for a time.

"It knocked out a lot of our electrical services. We've got the majority back up and running," Chief Stephan Semerjian of the Franklin Police Department said.

A car was even towed from the parking lot. The police chief says after the lightning strike the car would not start.

Crews in Franklin responded to two different homes that caught fire because of lightning strikes. No injuries were reported.

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