Community Corner

500,000 Without Power in Connecticut (Update)

The governor has closed the Wilbur Cross and Merritt parkways and is banning truck traffic in the state as Irene howls.

Update, 10:03 a.m. Sunday

This is probably hard to imagine right now, but it’s possible the sun may peek out before today is over.

At least, that’s what some meteorologists are predicting as Irene continues to lash the state and power outages continue to ratchet up in numbers.

Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

CL&P officials say there are more than 400,000 customers without power in the state. United Illuminating has about 100,000 customers out of power this morning. CL&Ps outages have increased dramatically over the morning, when there were 60,000 customers without power.  CL&P officials say they can’t begin restoring power until after Irene passes through the state, which is expected to be in the late afternoon.

Some towns, like Marlborough, East Hampton, Chester and Clinton, are almost completely without power while others, such as Enfield and Suffield, have fewer than 1 percent of homes without electricity.

Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In Portland, the eastbound lanes of Route 66 are closed because of a tree across the highway.

According to meteorologist Joe Furey Irene is moving at 25 mph and is moving along the Connecticut and New York borders. Furey, in a report this morning on WTIC radio, said thattrack means Irene should be out of the state by day’s end and the sun could even peak out.

The storm’s track indicates the brunt of Irene will hit the state around 11 a.m. That’s exactly when high tide occurs along the Connecticut shoreline, a situation that has state officials concerned about storm surges and unusually high tides in towns along the southwestern portion of Connecticut.

Some 32 towns, most of them along the southwestern coast, are under mandatory evacuation orders. Almost all towns have opened emergency shelters and nearly 2,000 people have checked into shelters, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy reported this morning.

Malloy has banned tractor-trailer truck traffic on Connecticut roadways and he closed the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways at 7 a.m. today.  He also has ordered all non-essential traffic off state roads and has warned anyone who ventures out in defiance of that order that emergency officials may not be able to help them if they run into trouble.

The Housatonic River, Malloy said, has hit flood stage and officials were expected to open the flood gates on the river. To drop the water level. Malloy, however, has warned that other rivers and streams are expected to flood and could result in flash flooding.

Numerous local roads are closed around the state because of fallen trees and downed power lines.

One person in Prospect was killed this morning, Malloy said, because of downed power lines and Irene is expected to bring even higher winds through the state, some in excess of 60 mph, as she passes out of the state. As a result, power outages are expected to climb throughout the day, state officials said.

Original Story

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has closed the Wilbur Cross and Merritt parkways and has declared a ban on tractor-trailer truck traffic on all roads in the state.

The governor announced the road closures and ban this morning during his latest press briefing from the Emergency Operations Center at the State Armory in Hartford.

Malloy said some 240,000 utility customers, mostly homes, are without power across the state this morning. He also said there has been at least one fatality attributed to the storm. That death was the result of downed wires in Prospect, but Malloy said there was no additional information on the incident.

That fatality, he said, serves as a warning to other residents to steer clear of downed wires.

“We’ve already experienced one lost of life,” Malloy said. “What concerns me is that it’s now light out and people (will) decide they want to go out and experience this thing. We’re concerned about the loss of life and injury. Please … do not go near downed wires.”

In all, 32 towns are reporting evacuation measures and there are about 1,600 people staying in emergency shelters, he added.

The state has still not seen the worst of the storm, he said. As Irene exits the state she is expected to drag behind her winds that could reach up to 60 mph, Malloy said.

He said he has called up 900 National Guard troops who stand ready to help with rescue operations once the storm is over.  The state’s meteorologist, he said, is still predicting that Irene is a Category 1 hurricane. He also continues to predict that areas along Long Island Sound could experience a storm surge around 11 a.m. when the sound hits high tide.

He warned motorists to stay off the roads today because of the danger of downed wires, trees and flying debris.

Malloy had warned yesterday that he would likely close the Merritt and Wilbur Cross highways as Irene made landfall here.  He said he could close additional highways as the storm worsens.

The Housatonic River, he said, is at flood stage and “we have hours to go on precipitation. We’re hitting a real peak period of time.”

How are you faring in the storm?


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