Malloy: 'This could be bad'

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Governor Dannel Malloy suggested shoreline cities and towns begin making evacuation plans in anticipation of Sandy causing perhaps the worst flooding Connecticut has seen in decades.

"This could be bad. Really bad," the governor said during a Saturday afternoon news conference.

Local municipalities have already begun to issue evacuation orders.

The Town of East Haven ordered a mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas beginning Sunday morning. That town was hard hit by Irene in August of 2011, with many homes damaged or destroyed. East Haven high school will be open as a shelter.

Neighboring Branford said it would announce evacuation plans on Sunday.

The Town of Fairfield issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents of the beach area at noon on Sunday. A shelter will be opened at Ludlowe High School at Noon. [ map ]

The City of Stamford also announced possible evacuations. On it's website the city said "Residents who live in SLOSH Areas I & II are urged to prepare for possible extended evacuation, should it become necessary."

In Old Saybrook, voluntary evacuations were recommended for residents in certain areas.

Malloy said the state and utilities Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating are preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best.

The governor said the storm could last 36-hours and last over four high tide cycles. They are expecting wind gusts of up to 80 mph. The sustained winds could hamper restoration efforts by the utilities.

CL&P's Brian Quinlan said they are preparing for a worst case scenario where half their customers, 600,000, lose power. He expects to have over 5,000 personnel involved in the storm response.

Jim Torgerson of United Illuminating said they have been planning for a situation where 50-70 percent of their customers lose power.

"This may truly be a natural disaster," Quinlan said.

Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, were expected to be in Connecticut on Sunday.

The state Emergency Operations Center, which was partially activated Saturday, will be fully activated Sunday.

The University of New Haven and Fairfield University canceled classes and events on Monday and Tuesday because of Sandy.

 

Below is an earlier story....

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Sandy bounced between tropical storm and hurricane strength early Saturday as the storm churns up the Atlantic seaboard towards Connecticut.

Gov.. Dannel Malloy signed a Declaration of Emergency in advance of the storm.

The storm was downgraded to a tropical storm at 5:00 a.m. by the National Hurricane Center, but then was back with hurricane force winds at 8:00 a.m.

• Coastal Flood Watch posted: now through Oct. 30

"Sandy is a very large tropical cyclone," the NHC said. "Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 100 miles primarily southwest of the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 450 miles."

Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Sam Kantrow says Sandy "will likely be just below hurricane strength before landfall, which right now looks to be around central New Jersey."

• Tropical Storm – wind speed between 39 MPH and 73 MPH
• Hurricane – wind speed between 74 MPH and 110 MPH
• Major Hurricane – wind speed greater than 110 MPH  ( noaa.gov )

Connecticut residents could start to feel the effects of Sandy beginning Sunday night. Kantrow says the the worst of the winds from Sandy should be felt Monday into Tuesday, and the worst tidal flooding hitting Monday night.

The state's Emergency Operations Center in Hartford was scheduled to be up and running at 8:00 a.m. to coordinate state efforts with cities and towns. Gov. Dannel Malloy is expected to make a public statement at 2:00 p.m. today.

Yesterday, the governor said the state was preparing for a 36-hour long storm. He and other public safety officials urged the public to make all the preparations they can, including making an emergency kit, having plenty of bottled water and non-perishable food on hand, stock up on batteries for flashlights, fill up gas tanks, and have cash on hand in case the power goes out and the ATMs don't work.

Visit  WXedge.com  for around-the-clock storm updates and technical discussions