Thousands lost power as homes were hit with intense flooding that turned Quincy's Houghs Neck neighborhood into an island earlier this year.

The footage of the coastal flooding and the National Guard helping stranded residents made it onto CNN and elsewhere.

On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker was back in Quincy, urging the television reporters in the back of the room of a local senior center to re-run footage from the series of storms that ripped through Massachusetts this year.

"Just to remind everybody, just because all those neighborhoods in all those areas aren't flooded and people aren't out of their porches with all of their furniture today, doesn't mean this isn't sort of a fact of life, something we're all going to have to deal with going forward," Baker said before the ceremonial signing of a $2.4 billion borrowing bill that authorizes spending on dam and seawall repairs, grants for vulnerability preparedness, park improvements, hazardous waste cleanup, and air and water quality monitoring.

Baker recalled talking to Houghs Neck homeowners who said they hadn't seen storms like the one that hit in March 2018 in the 40 to 60 years of owning their homes. But those types of storms are expected to become more frequent, according to the governor.

"Look, I've always supported the notion that the climate's changing, but the rising the temperature of the water in the ocean and rising sea levels creates a certain weather pattern here that just hits with a lot more force than it has historically," Baker told reporters.

Baker was joined at the bill-signing by his environmental affairs chief Matt Beaton, state Sens. John Keenan of Quincy, Anne Gobi of Spencer, and Sen. Bruce Tarr of Gloucester, and Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, along with other elected officials.

Tarr, the Republican minority leader in the state Senate, said protection of the environment transcends both party lines and geography.

Gobi, in a statement, called the borrowing bill a "reflection of the varied environmental priorities throughout the state."

"Working with our farmers, foresters, and various environmental groups and individuals, it shows a strong commitment to the preservation and conservation of our natural resources," she added.