W. Hartford braces for more flooding

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) - A West Hartford neighborhood is bracing for more flooding as the latest storm moves through the state.

Unfortunately they are still cleaning up, after Sunday's storm made an expensive mess of their homes.

Governor Malloy announced that he is opening the Emergency Operations Center on Mar.11.

The center will open at 11 p.m. Thursday. After storms earlier this week added to melting snow, Malloy says the entire state is under a flood watch.

The emergency operations center will coordinate responses if needed.

Flood watches were in effect Thursday across much of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio as rain moved in and threatened to raise already swollen waterways out of their banks.

The National Weather Service is forecasting rainfall Thursday night possibly between a half and three-quarters of an inch, and just as much on Friday.

"We had two of these side by side, and it came up through the drain, filled the tub and went onto the floor, raw sewage," says Betsy Olguin.

They live on Four Mile Road in West Hartford.

During the last hard rain, Jim Schults had raw sewage bubble out of his toilet in the basement for hours. Now the wall's cut open, and everything from the washer and dryer, to the stereo and refrigerator had to be thrown in the dumpster. Metropolitan District went to his house to help prevent further water damage.

"They put a check valve and covered this in case it rains a lot this weekend, and the cover, that is where the toilet sat, same thing in the shower, it doesn't seem too sturdy, but we'll see what happens," says Schults. "it stops things from coming up from the street, but it still lets you eject stuff supposedly, but as you head from my neighbors, these are on but they are still getting wet."

"We did find that, our back water valve failed, it was wide open," says Eric Bischof of West Hartford. "It was 5:45 in the morning, walked down stairs and saw the water it was a shock."

Bischof says he has about two feet of water in his home.

Many of the people in the area lost everything in their basements, Bischof had just finished his basement last summer.

"We sustained a couple thousand dollars worth of damage," says Bischof.

"I had put in a brand new 1,300 dollar water heater four weeks ago and it is completely ruined," says Lisa Campo of West Hartford.

"I am worried about tonight we had to go into the basement and and make sure nothing is on the floor," says Jenny Sagers.