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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Aug 19, 2024 6:57 pm
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(Left to right) Inside the Route 67 Diner, the exterior of Klarides Village, and another shot inside the diner.
SEYMOUR – Before Mike Abe, the owner of Route 67 Diner in Klarides Village, walked into his restaurant Monday morning (Aug. 19) to assess the damage caused by Sunday’s raging flood waters, he was warned by police and fire officials at the front door about what he was about to see.
“All I could see was chairs and tables in the parking lot, forks and knives scattered everywhere, equipment from the kitchen turned upside down and that was before I even got inside the door,” Abe said.
The damage inside was worse. Tables were pushed through a wall. A large cooler was missing.
“Everything was just gone. Nothing is there,” he said.
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Eugene Driscoll | Aug 19, 2024 6:40 pm
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A Tweet from NBC Connecticut Chief Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan.
THEVALLEY – The rain and subsequent floods Sunday (Aug. 18) that killed two people and caused untold damage in Oxford and Seymour was statistically extreme* event, according to a meteorologist interviewed Monday by The Valley Indy.
The amount of rain that fell (anywhere from nine to 12 inches depending on the town) coupled with the time it took to fall (roughly six to eight hours) made it either a once in every 500 years – or a once in every 1,000 years – event.
That means, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, a flood of Sunday’s magnitude “has a 1 in 1,000 chance of occurring in any given year. In terms of probability, the 1,000-year flood has a 0.1% chance of happening in any given year.”
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Press Release | Aug 19, 2024 5:54 pm
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The following was sent to The Valley Indy:
Valley United Way recognizes the devastation cast upon those impacted by the flooding that occurred in Oxford and the surrounding Lower Naugatuck Valley communities as a result of the heavy rains experienced over this past weekend.
Mike Pacowta, President &CPO of Valley United Way commended the American Red Cross in their efforts to provide shelter and assistance to those who suffered as a result of this natural disaster.
“On behalf of Valley United Way, I would like to thank the American Red Cross for all that they continually do to help people in crisis particularly as it relates in this instance to the terrible flooding over the weekend,” stated Pacowta.
The local American Red Cross chapter is a partner agency that receives financial support from Valley United Way on an annual basis.
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Jasmine Wright | Aug 19, 2024 5:35 pm
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Jasmine Wright
A sign by the Tingue Dam in Seymour is bent following floods throughout the Valley on Sunday.
VALLEY – TEAM, Inc. is establishing a flood relief fund for people impacted by the floods on Aug. 18.
“TEAM Inc., a Valley-based organization serving the most vulnerable of our region, has set up a relief fund for residents impacted by Sunday’s devastating storm and flood,” a press release from the organization said.
The fund will be used for assistance to those in the Valley directly impacted by the flood. TEAM President David Morgan told The Valley Indy that the money will go towards people’s basic needs, and listed food, housing, and transportation assistance as examples.
All of the money donated to the fund will go directly toward this assistance, Morgan said, and none of it will be used for administration or other costs.
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Jasmine Wright | Aug 19, 2024 4:14 pm
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Jasmine Wright
Governor Ned Lamont speaks at a press conference concerning the Aug. 18 floods at Oxford Town Hall.
OXFORD – Two women were killed in separate incidents after being swept away by flood waters on Route 67 Sunday (Aug. 18).
State police identified the women as Ethelyn Joiner, 65, and Audrey Rostkowski, 71, both of Oxford. Their next of kin were notified, state police said.
The women were killed in flash floods that caused extensive damage to southwest Connecticut on Sunday.
Officials warned more rain could be coming Monday evening.
Local, state, and federal officials updated the public during a press conference at Oxford Town Hall Monday afternoon (Aug. 19).
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Eugene Driscoll | Aug 19, 2024 3:05 pm
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Sheila Borino Photo
A rescuer from the state’s Urban Search and Rescue Team prepares to place 2-year-old Juliana Borino in a boat to get her off Jackson Cove in Oxford late Sunday.
OXFORD – Resident Sheila Borino was one of 61 people trapped for about 10 hours Sunday at Jackson Cove, a public park in Oxford on the shore of Lake Zoar, the body of water formed by the Stevenson Dam on the Housatonic River.
Flash flooding hit the area Sunday afternoon, wreaking havoc on southwestern Connecticut. Two women in Oxford were killed in separate incidents.
Borino, her friends, and family, had gathered at Jackson Cove at about 12 p.m. Sunday to celebrate her daughter Juliana’s second birthday. There’a a pavilion and playground there.
It was raining at the start of the party, but the weather forecasts said the rain would move on.
“We kept checking and everybody kept telling me, ‘OK, in a half an hour it’s going to clear up’,” Borino said.
The lower Naugatuck Valley area was inundated with rain Sunday (Aug. 18), prompting First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis to open an emergency shelter at Seymour Middle School, 211 Mountain Road.
“We are doing a voluntary evacuation of those residents living along the river as well as all active springs and streams,” Drugonis said in a recorded message received by The Valley Indy at 7:56 p.m. “If you need to evacuate and cannot please call 911. We ask that if you do not need to be on the roads please do not drive through standing or moving water. Stay safe.”
At 9:51 p.m., Drugonis said a voluntary evacuation was also in place from 1 Derby Ave. to 600 Derby Ave. due to rising flood waters.
WTNH reported between 5 to 10 inches of rain fell in parts of southwest Connecticut by 8 p.m. Radars from the National Weather Service (NWS) showed 5 to 6 inches in Seymour by 8 p.m., 6 to 8 inches in Oxford, 3 to 4 inches in Ansonia, and 2.5 to 3 inches in Derby. Those numbers will be updated.
The Housatonic River reached 21.5 feet on Sunday, according to real-time data from the National Weather Service. That's the highest since 2011.
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Press Release | Aug 18, 2024 10:45 pm
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The Stevenson Dam on the border of Oxford and Monroe.
OXFORD-MONROE — The following statement was sent by FirstLight Energy:
Amidst extreme unanticipated rainfall in Western Connecticut and associated flooding in the Lower Housatonic River area, FirstLight assures the community that the Stevenson Dam is structurally secure and is operating as it was designed to – it is not in danger of failing.
The Stevenson Dam is not a flood control facility, so it cannot hold back water, meaning what flows down the river must be passed through the dam at the same rate. Area residents should obey the instructions of emergency service personnel and avoid approaching the dam and the Housatonic River until the gravely dangerous high flows subside.
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Press Release | Aug 16, 2024 7:20 am
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Seymour Public Library welcomes Christina Rewinski, Museum Educator from the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, for a free and in-person lecture, “Journeys: Boys of the Chinese Educational Mission- Hartford, CT ” Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 6:30 P.M.
Yung Wing, the first Chinese student to graduate from a US University, came to America under the sponsorship of a missionary and received his degree from Yale in 1854.
