First Selectman Jeff Capeci has declared a State of Emergency in Newtown "to expedite our recovery and to secure state and federal aid."
Capeci says that 36 locations on state and town roads have suffered severe damage and in four areas, residents are cut off. Public works is focused on restoring their access to main roads.
Read Capeci's message in its entirety here.
From Newtown Police:
Route 34 in the area of the Stevenson Dam will be closed until further notice. Several portions of Route 34 in Newtown are unstable and partially washed out. We encourage residents who commonly use Route 34 to seek alternate routes.
State and local officials are working as quickly as possible to assess the impact of the flooding. You can do your part by remaining at home and off of the roads if at all possible. Please be patient with Emergency and Public Works crews. Thankfully, injuries have been minimal in Newtown so far.
Visit Newtown Police for an up-to-date list on road closures here.
Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has declared a state of emergency in response to the significant flooding that is impacting portions of Connecticut due to the historically severe rainfall that began yesterday afternoon and has caused extensive structural damage to roadways.
“The sudden and severe flooding has caused significant damage to infrastructure in the western portion of the state, resulting in evacuations, rescues, and more than two dozen road closures that we anticipate will need to be closed for an extended period,” Governor Lamont said. “This emergency declaration may help expedite some of the resources needed for us to respond to this situation, and in particular can help prioritize potential federal resources such as equipment and work crews that can assist state and local crews with repairing infrastructure damage. I strongly encourage anyone in the western area of the state to stay alert for updates before traveling and do not attempt to drive through any flooded roads.”
Governor Lamont and the state’s emergency management team have been leading unified command calls with state and municipal officials and other partners to lead coordinated response to the storm. The Connecticut Emergency Operations Center has been in enhanced monitoring mode since Sunday afternoon and will remain active throughout the duration of this weather event.
Municipal officials in the impacted areas are strongly advised to continue coordinating with their assigned regional coordinators from the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security on any requests for assistance.
For real-time travel updates on road closures, visit ctroads.org.