WESTPORT, Mass. (WHDH) -- On the south coast, flooding caused problems; because of the high tide and the storm surge, many communities were underwater.

In Westport, they’ve had floods, power outages and evacuations but it wasn’t until sunrise that the full extent of the damage Sandy left behind could be seen.

Sandy’s punishing winds and high seas hit coastal areas hard in Massachusetts, and Westport was no exception.

“We've seen it before. I don't think it's near as severe as perhaps ‘78 or the no-name storm. But it's still, for the people on the coast, it's still scary,” said a Westport resident.

In Westport, roads that were visible disappeared underwater in minutes as high tide approached. Many people took the risk to drive through, others checked in on elderly neighbors without power.

“We live in a small community here. Everybody knows everybody and we try to watch out for each other.”

Mandatory evacuation orders were handed out in Dartmouth but many people with property to protect opted to stay put.

“We will wait and see how high the water comes and we'll decide to go,” said a resident whose home sits nears the water.

Further to the north downed power lines forced street closures in Winthrop but it was the crashing waves that had residents in awe.

While police warned residents to stay inside, some locals could not help but get an up-close look.

“I am a faithful person so I let it be done whatever is going to happen is going to happen.”

Sen. Scott Brown toured the area on Tuesday morning.

“We’re a little but lucky this time. I think the governor and his team did a great job,” Sen. Brown said.

Sen. Brown’s opponent Democrat Elizabeth Warren also toured the area.

“It’s clear that this was a powerful storm and it reminds me again of how grateful we are to our first responders for all that they did. How grateful we are to our governor, to our reps. and senators who really got prepared and made sure that the damage wasn’t worse than it was and that we didn’t have people who were hurt,” said Warren.

Senator Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren decided not to participate in their final debate Tuesday night due to Sandy, but were in talks of possibly rescheduling for later in the week.