Emergency officials spent much of Monday responding to reports of downed limbs and trees as Hurricane Sandy gathered strength in southern New England.

Wareham Fire Captain Michael Dykas said the sustained winds, combined with some of the local forests’ pre-existing conditions, could mean that fallen branches and trees will create issues in some neighborhoods.

“The last Tropical Storm [Irene], combined with bugs eating the trees, has created a lot of dead wood,” which is frail and more susceptible to the wind, Dykas explained.

Two trees fell on Connehasset Road in the Cromesett neighborhood, one of which landed on a home and took out primary electrical wires. It is unclear if the home was occupied at the time, but no injuries were reported.

“We make sure all the streets are passable for emergency vehicles,” said Dykas.

As night fell and time crept closer to the 8:30 p.m. high tide, emergency responders had to focus on rising waters in low-lying areas of both Wareham and Onset.

At 6:15 p.m. on Monday, Wareham Police issued a voluntary evacuation to residents who live in low-lying areas, advising them to move to higher ground.

Swifts Beach Road and the surrounding area was under approximately three feet or more of water. The water steadily receded, and the skies cleared at approximately 9 p.m.

Wareham Health Agent Robert Ethier said approximately 16 people took advantage of the town's shelter at the Multi-Service Center.

"Most of the storm, until we had the high rise in the water and the evacuations, we only had two" people in the shelter, Ethier said. "When the water levels rose … we ended up with 16."

The shelter was able to shut down at approximately 10 p.m.

"When the waters receded, people went home," Ethier said.

The shelter was staffed with volunteers from the town's Medical Reserve Corps, a group of residents who help keep emergency care sites running in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.

"We had about 17 volunteers," Ethier said. "They did a great job. We're lucky to have them. It's great that they're involved."

Ethier commended Wareham Police, firefighters, the Harbormaster and Municipal Maintenance departments, and others who were in the thick of the storm.

"These guys are first-responders in the best sense," he said. "They're professionals, and they are just good at what they do. They're always there, so you can expect things — no matter how bad things get — to go well."

Tell us about your Hurricane Sandy experience in the comments! Did you evacuate? Lose power? Fare pretty well? Let us know!

Got storm photos? E-mail them to jaime@warehamweek.com, tell us whom to credit, and we'll put them up online.