MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — It was a rainy morning and officials were watching areas on the shoreline that are prone to flooding. A coastal flood advisory was in effect in New Haven and Fairfield Counties for several hours.
People who live in these areas were also paying attention to the skies and the tides. Areas next to marshes – like Beachland Avenue in Milford – are some of the most prone to flooding. That’s where Duarte Cabral lives. He sees Beachland Avenue and other nearby streets flood fairly often. The water can get especially high, since it can come from the sound across the street or the nearby marsh. He and his neighbors know what to do, however.
“Move the cars,” said Cabral. “But I can’t do anything about the house right now. What I’ve got to do now is move my garbage cans.”
“First thing I went to do was look for my car, see if I was not under water yet,” said neighbor Ryan Farrell.
Officials know this area floods too. They sent crews to check it out about an hour before high tide – that’s how they decide if they need to warn residents about the threat of flooding.
“We’re expecting some local coastal flooding, some of the roadways will flood,” said Battalion Chief Anthony Fabrizi of the Milford Fire Department. “Some of the railroad underpasses will flood. Those are about the first to flood.”
Officials asked drivers to move their cars to higher ground and stay off the roads if possible, since driving in flooded areas is risky. This morning’s rain was enough to make roads like Melba Street nearly impassible, though some drivers still tried to get through. Farrell wasn’t one of them.
“Looks like a home day,” he said. “Good football day, a good cleaning up day, so a little bit of both.”
Weather like this makes neighbors nervous, since a rainy day means the water on the streets might encroach on their cars and houses.
“This happens with a good rain storm,” said neighbor Terry Bumbolow. “And if a hurricane or a heavier storm comes, forget it. We’re really in for it.”
Despite the rain and wind it was a warm day for January. Neighbors were relieved that it was only rain that they were dealing with.
“I prefer rain over snow any day,” said Farrell. “So far we’ve been lucky and I’m happy for that. I don’t like cold.”
Officials were expecting two feet of water or more on some of the roads on the Milford shoreline.
