UPDATED: Irene Hits Easton Hard

Irene finally arrived in Easton - and she is wreaking havoc

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, over 5,000 Easton residents were without power and emergency officials were working overtime to keep roads clear and restore power.

"Keeping the roads open is our biggest priority right now," Easton DPW Director Wayne Southworth said Sunday morning.

Southworth said the DPW had almost every employee working to deal with the storm. Fire and Police officials said that they had bulked up staffing for Sunday as well.

Police Chief Allen Krajcik told Patch Sunday afternoon that over 100 trees had fallen throughout town and officials had spent the majority of the day clearing trees and wires from roads.

Outages in Easton range from Foundry Street to Depot Street in South Easton. In addition, customers are out of power from Massapoag Ave to Center Street. Most of North Easton Village is without power as well.

Lance Franck, a student volunteer, at the National Weather Service told Patch that the center of the storm has passed Easton. Winds are expected to continue to be sustained at 40-60 mph with gusts of 55-80 mph.

Franck said to expect winds to taper off this evening at approximately 9 or 10 p.m. Conditions will continue throughout the evening and Easton will see 2-4 inches of rain. No flooding has been reported by any of Easton's emergency officials.

Officials are reminding residents that safety is a top priority. While fire officials urge residents to stay away from down wires, Krajcik urges residents to stay off the roads and care for your neighbors until the storm passes.

"People should remember to care for their senior or elderly neighbors - check in on them," he said.