Stamford’s first responders prepped, but not needed
STAMFORD — Though initially projected to wreak havoc in lower Fairfield Country, Tropical Storm Henri left Stamford and Greenwich relatively unscathed as the storm progressed further inland and eventually made landfall in Rhode Island.
On top of Sunday’s accumulation, the National Weather Service estimated Stamford could experience another two to four inches of rain on Monday as Henri’s impacts continue to pepper the region. As a result, a flood watch from the National Weather Service will remain in effect through Monday.
Rain and winds intensified for short spurts throughout the late morning and afternoon Sunday, but it was just business as usual for some residents.
Umbrella-clad pedestrians trotted through Downtown Stamford on morning coffee trips and supply runs, largely unperturbed by warnings of surges still to come. However, the city closed all its beaches ahead of the storm and opened
an emergency shelter at Stamford High School.
Just a few miles over near Binney Park in Greenwich, joggers took advantage of the wavering storm while the nearby pond quivered with every additional rainfall.
And in Darien, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said her town had no significant impacts other than coastal flooding at Pear Tree Beach through midday.
“While we appear to have been spared the brunt of Storm Henri, as a reminder, during periods of high winds and heavy rain, it is extremely dangerous to be on the roads with the combined risks of flash flooding and falling trees and power lines,” Stevenson said.
Along the shore, emergency providers had prepared in the days leading up to Henri’s landfall, ready to act as needed.
“In preparation for the storm, our team of firstresponders with extra staff and equipment have been staged to respond to any situation that may arise from this weather event,”
Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo told residents in a press release.
Stamford, too, prepped ahead of time.
“The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our first priority and the City is fully equipped to respond to the storm in every regard,” Stamford Mayor David Martin said in a press release.
“Emergency response officials have held multiple hurricane preparedness meetings and have taken the appropriate measures to ensure that our City is completely prepared for the impacts of this storm,”
added Ted Jankowski, Stamford’s director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare.
However, by mid-afternoon, the strong winds predicted by the National Weather Service before Henri landed failed to manifest and instead gave way to milder showers throughout the city and two towns.
Even with winds only reaching a fraction of expected levels, utility provider Eversource still reported a smattering of power outages throughout the area.
Early during the storm, Eversource announced a budding hot spot for power
outages in North Stamford, with 1,100 outages affected. Other blips formed in Springdale, Riverside, and Old Greenwich. However, the company expected to resolve most of its local blackouts by late Sunday afternoon.
“We were certainly spun up and ready for it,” Stamford Emergency Services Director Trevor Roach told Hearst Connecticut Media.
Yet beyond the relative calm near Stamford, the situation grew direr. The bulk of Connecticut’s power outages clustered in the eastern half of the state. Eversource counted almost 32,000 affected customers, although the figure paled compared to 2020’s Tropical Storm Isaias when close to 60 percent of Eversource customers lost power.
In Stamford alone, 9,000 people lost power during Isaias, and in Greenwich, another 10,000 customers felt the storm’s electrical impact.
With last year’s extended outages still a recent memory, Roach deemed the city and agency’s joint response to Henri a success.
“The Eversource rep. was very happy with the level of the storm and Stamford,” he said.