HARTFORD — Gov. Ned Lamont’s office announced Friday (Sept. 20) that President Joe Biden approved Connecticut’s request to issue a “major disaster declaration” for the towns that suffered damage during the Aug. 18 rainstorm and flooding that claimed the lives of three people.
The declaration makes it possible for property owners in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties to apply for assistance such as grants for temporary housing and home repairs, along with low-cost loans to cover uninsured losses.
“This historic weather event caused significant damage to homes and businesses in western Connecticut, and the approval of this major disaster declaration means that individuals will be able to access federal funding to support their recovery efforts, particularly when it comes to the rebuilding of uninsured infrastructure,” Gov. Lamont said in a prepared statement.
Officials will also be opening “disaster recovery and business recovery centers” that will provide in-person support to help people apply for assistance. The locations and hours will be announced at a later date.
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Sep 19, 2024 6:19 am
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OXFORD – Officials from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) said they plan to have Route 34 near the Stevenson Dam open again with a $1.2 million temporary bridge by Oct. 31.
The road has been closed in both directions at Loughlin Road since Aug. 18 when flood waters took out the bridge that passed over the Eightmile Brook next to the Housatonic River.
The flood waters rushing down a hill toward the Housatonic took out the 100-year-old bridge, which was supported by a large concrete arch, along with a swath of forest next to Roosevelt Drive. The bottom half of Loughlin Road also got washed away.
The video below from DroningAroundCT shows how the road and bridge looked between August and September:
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Eugene Driscoll | Sep 10, 2024 7:00 am
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OXFORD — The flood-damaged section of Route 34 on the Oxford side of the Stevenson Dam is still closed, but the road could be open again by Oct. 31.
At least that’s the goal, according to a state Department of Transportation update shared on Facebook by state Rep. Kara Rochelle on Sept. 7.
Route 34 between Loughlin Road and Coppermine Road at the Stevenson Dam has been closed since Aug. 18 when powerful flood waters washed the road away, causing shoulder, roadway, and structural damage, according to the DOT.
The DOT plans to install a temporary bridge on Route 34 by Halloween.
OXFORD-SEYMOUR — In addition to killing three people, including two women in Oxford, the Aug. 18 floods destroyed 13 houses in New Haven County and six houses in Fairfield County.
Another 170 houses suffered major damage, with an additional 133 houses deemed “inaccessible.”
About 90 percent of the damage happened in areas that were not designated as flood zones — so many homes and business owners do not have flood insurance.
The floods caused an estimated $13 million in damages to Metro-North’s Waterbury train line, and there’s no telling when it will be repaired.
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Sep 9, 2024 6:46 pm
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SEYMOUR – River Street, which suffered significant damage from the Aug. 18 flooding, reopened over the weekend.
The state-owned road, also known as Route 313, reopened on Friday night (Sept. 6). It was the last road in Seymour that remained closed after historic flooding claimed the lives of two people and caused millions of dollars in property damage.
Town officials were informed by the state that River Street would likely remain closed for four to six weeks. However, those were early estimates from the state Department of Transportation, and repairs got underway sooner than anticipated, said a DOT official.
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Sep 9, 2024 6:18 pm
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OXFORD-SEYMOUR – Federal officials are looking into complaints about how debris from the Aug. 18 rainstorm was cleared from Lake Zoar at the Stevenson Dam.
Members of the Lake Housatonic Authority previously complained about FirstLight’s plan to clear the debris field in a Valley Indy story published Aug. 22. The authority alleged FirstLight, the dam’s owner, violated its “debris management plan” on file with federal regulators.
The authority alleged that too much debris was allowed to flow over the Stevenson Dam and into the Housatonic River communities under the dam.
The photo above is from 2023. The video below is from DroningAroundCT’s Facebook page and shows Lake Zoar at the boat barrier on Aug. 19.
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Eugene Driscoll | Sep 6, 2024 7:03 am
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SEYMOUR – The region is still waiting to hear whether the federal government will issue a major disaster declaration in connection to the Aug. 18 rainstorm that produced flash floods in Monroe, Naugatuck, Oxford, Southbury and Seymour.
The declaration, if it happens, could result in the release of federal funding to reimburse eligible homeowners, businesses, and state/local government for some rebuilding and repair costs. That aid could potentially help uninsured private property owners, too.
An issue locally is that many properties did not have flood insurance, because no one thought the “Little River” was capable of causing so much damage.
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Sep 4, 2024 6:11 pm
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OXFORD – A daylong music festival to help people impacted by the Aug. 18 floods is scheduled for Saturday (Sept. 7) at Quarry Walk shopping plaza.
The “Community Rising Day Long Music Fest,” a flood relief fundraiser, is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Quarry Walk’s Center Rock Green, 300 Oxford Rd. (Route 67).
The event is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit the Community Rising Team Flood Relief Fund, which is also known as the Valley Flood Relief Fund. Click here to donate.
ANSONIA – Representatives from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) and Save The Sound met with residents of Ansonia and Seymour on Aug. 28 to answer questions about the planned removal of the Kinneytown Dam.
About 80 people attended the meeting – about half in-person and half via Zoom – at the Ansonia Senior Center on 65 Main St. Residents asked about the status of the dams following last month’s floods, the eventual fate of Coe Pond, and various other matters.
The Kinneytown Dam, out of operation since 2013, is in Seymour, just north of the border with Ansonia. The complex also includes a canal that feeds into Coe Pond downstream. An embankment dam, the Coe Pond Dam, runs along the length of the canal.
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Sep 4, 2024 6:46 am
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SEYMOUR – The town’s fire chief and emergency management director said 26 homes and 16 businesses were damaged during the Aug. 18 rainstorm that produced flash flooding in the area. An estimated $455,000 in damage was caused to Seymour’s roads and infrastructure.
“I’ve never seen water do destruction like it did on Aug. 18,” Chris Edwards told members of the Seymour Board of Selectpersons on Tuesday (Sept. 3).“We’re in the recovery phase now.”
Edwards said the 15 inches of rain that fell undermined roads, uprooted sidewalks, caused damage to a privately-owned dam, and dumped five feet of water into basements. There were more than 100 emergency calls during the storm.