For some caught in storm, a harried commute
STAMFORD — Isaiah Delgado has 20-20 vision, but it didn’t do him any good Wednesday night.
While winding through roads and highways on the late night drive from Stratford to his overnight shift at a caretaking facility in Stamford, there were closed roads and flooding galore, but he could barely see any of it: The relentless rainfall made it nearly impossible to see anything.
“I felt like I needed glasses driving,” the 25-year-old joked.
Delgado commuted through the thick of Tropical Storm Ida’s brutal onslaught on Connecticut, which dumped more than eight inches of water on Stamford and left destruction everywhere in its wake. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency — an alert that signals extreme flooding in densely populated regions — for the first time in Connecticut history during the torrent.
As of Thursday morning, the city reported 17 motor vehicle accidents, 18 water rescues 43 vehicles towed, and upwards of 600 power outages.
The agency issued an identical warning in New York City for only the second time ever.
“The fact that I really just made it to Stamford for this shift!?” he tweeted just before 11:30 p.m. “I really deserve employee of the month.”
It usually takes Delgado no more than 25 minutes to drive from home to work, but amid the utter chaos, his commute time doubled. Sure, he may have gotten to work late because of all the road closures and runoff and hydroplaning while driving as slow as he could,
but at least he made it to work in one piece, he said.
Other motorists were less fortunate.
The Stamford Emergency Operations Department spent much of the night rescuing drivers on a night commute from their vehicles because of conditions on the roads. As of Thursday morning, the city reported 17 motor vehicle accidents, 18 water rescues and 43 vehicles towed, and upwards of 600 power outages because of the storm. Stamford’s public safety agencies responded to 317 calls for service during the storm’s visit and its aftermath.
By the time Delgado left work Thursday at 8:30 a.m., the chaos of Ida was largely washed away. Some road remained flooded and debris sat scattered across Stamford, but for the most part, there was nothing. The trials of his eveningtime trip were erased completely.
Instead, there was only sun.