Middlesex chamber joins national flood coalition

MIDDLETOWN — The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce has joined the American Flood Coalition, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit alliance of elected officials, civic groups, military leaders, and municipalities advocating for national solutions to flooding and sea level rise.

The chamber joins a growing coalition of members from across Connecticut, including state Rep. RaghibAllie-Brennan, D-Bethel, and the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research, according to a press release.

Since 2005, homes in Connecticut have lost over $900 million in property value due to increased flooding and sea level rise, the release said. Earlier this year, Tropical Storm Isaias brought downpours, damaging winds, and tornado warnings across the state, for which Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced a disaster declaration to provide relief for small business owners, it continued.

Flooding damage to local infrastructure has become increasingly frequent, 73 percent of all presidential disaster declarations in the United States since 2008 have been issued due to flooding related events, according to the coalition.

“We see the resources of the American Flood Coalition as a tremendous value add to our community as we work with the City of Middletown and other municipal partners on the redevelopment of our Connecticut River waterfront in particular,” Chamber Vice President Jeff Pugliese said in a prepared statement. “We also look forward to their assistance as our region prepares for infrastructure and resilience projects in the coming years.”

For information, visit floodcoalition.org.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce is located at 393 Main St. in Middletown.