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On September 13, 2018 over 40 homes were completely destroyed in the north Boston suburbs of Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover. Excessive pressure in the underground natural gas lines is said to be the culprit. Local media are reporting that as many as 30,000 residents have been displaced. One day later, the Governor declared a state of emergency allowing funds to be allocated to the disaster. Now the federal government is involved and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is now assisting.
Today FEMA just announced that they have time chartered Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s Grand Celebration for two months. The ship is currently enroute to Boston where she will probably dock at the Flynn Cruise Terminal (formerly Black Falcon). The ships 1,496 lower berths will be used to house workers assigned with the cleanup and inspection of the underground lines. Colombia Gas, the company responsible for the lines, have set a November 19th restoration date so there will be a lot of work needed from these contractors. A lot of these workers are currently in hotels so the idea is to free up those rooms so that residents can stay there and be closer to their homes.
Bahamas Paradise Line has cancelled all October and November cruises.