New Bedford braces for Jose

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

NEW BEDFORD, M.A. (WLNE) — Towns and cities along the coast are bracing for Jose. 

In New Bedford, it was a busy day fisherman Michael Oliveira and his crew. 

"Safety is number one," he told ABC6 News. 

Oliveira joined countless other fishermen securing their boats to the docks at the city’s port. 

"Extra lines is an extra precaution that [the boat] won’t break free."

The port is near the city’s hurricane barrier. "This is the safest harbor on the east coast because of [the hurricane wall]," explained Mayor Jon Mitchell. 

He tells ABC6 News he is in constant contact with the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the hurricane barrier.

Mitchell is cautiously optimistic about Jose’s impact. 

"It looks like we’re going to get a glancing blow as opposed to a direct flow from the storm but that doesn’t mean that it’s something we don’t have to deal with," Mitchell said. 

The reservoir’s control center is being staffed all day and night during the storm. 

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017