Storm flooding shorts out electricity at Norwood Hospital, forces partial patient evacuation

Update: Another 60 to 70 patients were evacuated around 10:30 p.m.

The town of Norwood reports some 20 Norwood Hospital ICU patients were evacuated this evening after heavy rain flooded the hospital basement, "resulting in an electrical issue on the premises and a loss of power."

About 60 patients remain in the hospital, but more might have to be moved elsewhere if the power outage isn't fixed, town General Manager Tony Mazzucco said.

The Norwood Fire Department reports the flooding began around 4:45 p.m. and forced the hospital to shut down electrical service. Water then began pouring into rooms from the hospital roof. Mazzucco reports the problem worsened around 6:30 p.m. when flash flooding from a heavy storm overwhelmed storm drains, in turn forcing more water into the hospital basement.

The fire department adds:

Due to the patient rooms and safety being compromised the decision was made to evacuate patients from the hospital. A second alarm plus was struck bringing in mutual from surrounding departments to assist with evacuations as well as a technical rescue response from Norfolk County. Multiple ambulance task forces were called to transport the patients to other area hospitals.

A look at flooding on Rte. 1 in Norwood.

The fire department also reported that around 3:15 p.m. a lightning strike set a garage on fire on Pleasant Street.