The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cleanup follows heavy rains
Southern part hit worst; Route 9 flooded
MIDDLETOWN — Local crews were out early in the southern portion of the city Wednesday, cleaning up the effects of heavy downpours and flash flooding that hit the state Tuesday and left motorists stranded in as much as 3 feet of water and forced the state to close a 7-mile stretch of Route 9 in both directions.
As much as 6 inches of rain fell in less than two hours Tuesday night, officials said. The north and southbound lanes of Route 9, from exits 16 to 11, were closed from about 6 to 8 p.m. Later in the night, a single lane was reopened running northbound, according to Connecticut State Police.
“Here in the south end, it hit us pretty hard. It’s just basically the way the terrain is set up — we have these big hills and this valley where everything drains to,” South Fire District Chief Michael Howley said Wednesday morning, surveying the damage.
There is a gulley between exits 11 (Randolph Road/ Route 155) and 12 (Silver Street), he said. Nearby Sumner Brook
overflowed its banks, which also left portions of Lee Street and Millbrook Road by the pump station under water, he said. “When you get to that bottom, it floods with anywhere between 2 and 4 feet of water. We had cars stuck down there. One individual was actually sitting on the roof of his car.”
The damage halted traffic in both ways on Randolph Road, causing backups, the chief said. The state Department of Transportation was on scene throughout the evening. It took a couple of hours for the waters to recede, the chief said.
In the valley near the South District firehouse, water flowed down from Xavier High School, causing flash flooding on Ridge Road. Crews used an old brush truck to easily navigate the waters.
“(Drivers) were stuck in their cars. Firefighters went out there with the larger, military-style truck we have and picked them up. We had multiple people stranded at different times,” Howley said.
Throughout the duration, the station was inundated with weather-related calls: flooded basements, water getting into homes, leaks and impassable roads, the chief said. “Usually, it’s a short-term thing — as long as that rain is not continuously in that heavy downpour mode.”
Chamberlain Road, mostly a dirt street, was entirely washed out, the chief said. Finally, between 11 p.m. and midnight, the waters subsided.
“You would not even know that Randolph Road was flooded,” Howley said Wednesday morning. “For this area to handle more than 4 inches of rain in a short amount of time, we know we’re going to get some flooding. Luckily, the rain slowed down by 10 o’clock, because if it did not, I can guarantee the firehouse would have been compromised at one point if we had closer to that 10-inch mark.”
In comparison, the city’s downtown area was mostly unaffected. “In my district, we had nothing. Maybe one or two water calls, that was it,” said Middletown Fire Chief Robert Kronenberger.
Meanwhile, Howley urges people always to heed warnings of emergency management officials. “You hear about it on the news, and they tell you do not drive through the water. I can’t emphasize that enough. Pay attention.”
The DOT set up orange safety cones and signs as soon as they arrived at the flooded portion of Randolph Road but at least one motorist tried to drive around the deep water, the chief said. “Somebody decided to try and go around it, or they didn’t know their way around and said, ‘I’m still going through,’ and obviously, they didn’t make it. Now you’ve got to go out there again. Now it’s putting firefighters at risk to go out there and rescue you.”