by Doug Hardy
Numerous roads throughout southwestern Connecticut received damage similar to what is shown in this image in the flash-flooding on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. Above is an image captured Sunday of the only road to Jackson Cove in Oxford. The collapsed road forced a group of 61 people, who had been celebrating a child’s birthday, to be evacuated by boat.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced Wednesday that the Biden administration had signed off on the state’s emergency declaration following the historic rainfall and ensuing flash-flooding on Sunday.
The White House’s approval means that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will coordinate the response with state and local agencies. It also means that federal resources will be used to offset 75% of the costs involved with the state’s recovery in Fairfield, New Haven, and Litchfield counties, which saw rainfall totals ranging from 6 inches in some areas to 12.17 inches in Oxford and Newtown.
The resulting flash flooding claimed the lives of two Oxford women whose vehicles were washed off Route 67, required over 100 others to be rescued or evacuated from the rushing water, and washed out at least 27 different roads and bridges throughout the region.
The state has been working with towns, businesses, and individual property owners to assess the total damage and its cost, which may run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The assessment is expect to take several weeks as numerous vehicles, homes, businesses, roads, and bridges were flood-damaged or washed away entirely. Toxic chemicals were released into rivers and the state is assessing the impact of those spills as well. Rebuilding roads and bridges is one of the most expensive responsibilities of the state and its municipalities.
Credit: Screengrab / Commodities Meteorologist Jacob Feuerstein via X
Meteorologists say there were three separate storm events in the region – two 1,000-year-frequency storms that stalled over Long Island and over the lower Naugatuck River Valley in Connecticut, as well as a 500-year-frequency storm that moved into Fairfield County and overlapped with the heavier rainfall further east near the Naugatuck River.
It was essentially an unforecasted event. One meteorologist who grew up in the area described the Sunday’s weather system as “probably the most poorly forecast destructive Connecticut weather event of my life.”
In a statement released Wednesday, Lamont said recovery work has been ongoing since the storm stalled over the state on Sunday.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont talks about the teamwork involved with storm response during a news conference Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, following the rain and flash flooding on Sunday. Credit: Screengrab / CT-N
“This federal emergency declaration means that additional equipment and crews could be mobilized to Connecticut to support our many state and local crews who have been on the ground working to repair damaged roads, bridges, and dams, and also clean up waterways that have been contaminated by all kinds of hazardous items from the storm,” Lamont said. “There is still much work to do to repair and reopen the roads and make sure those who live in the area remain safe, and we are committed to completing this task. I thank President Biden for taking these actions and providing Connecticut with these lifesaving resources.”