Sandy And The Shoreline

Stamford has called for mandatory evacuations for residents who live in SLOSH Areas I and II. Residents who reside in SLOSH Areas III and IV are urged to prepare for a mandated evacuation, which may become necessary later today.

If you don’t live near the water in Stamford these designations mean nothing. Areas I and II are near the shore. Area III extends inland beyond I-95 and the railroad tracks!

Water levels at the Bridgeport, New Haven and New London tide stations are already nearly two feet above normal. Hurricane Sandy is still hundreds of miles south of Cape Hatteras, NC!

The threat is real. People who stay in place on the Connecticut shoreline risk injury or even death. It is possible we’ll see miles and miles of destruction up-and-down the shore.

Long Island Sound is forecast to reach higher levels than seen for the Hurricane of ’38!

Please take these warnings seriously. If asked to evacuate, don’t wait.

11 thoughts on “Sandy And The Shoreline”

  1. So … it’s going to be worse than ’38.

    Is there any specific data about what storm surge levels were seen in ’38? The best I could find was 10-12 feet.

    I realize that every storm is different, but all I know about ’38 is that the Connecticut River crested at 36 feet (two feet less than the Hurricane of ’36) and that my mother was a student at Connecticut College in New London and watched the city burn. I guess I also know that there was tremendous damage along the shoreline and all subsequent storms have been measured against the ’38 yardstick.

  2. Geoff,

    I live in Fairfield and they have ordered mandatory evacuations for all four flood zone levels. In some areas of town that extends much north of 95 and route 1.

  3. My mom said as she remembers the 1938 hurricane it rained for a week before the hurricane hit. The ground was saturated. There were no weather predictions back then. Glad we have geoff fox.

  4. I’m in southeast CT and am amazed that Stonington, Groton and East Lyme have not issued extensive evacuation orders. Much of downtown Mystic is at or below sea level. The predicted surges are going to inundate roads and homes. Same for Stonington borough.

    I remember stories from old timers and pictures of the Hurricane of 1938. I just don’t get how local officials are handling this.

    I’m also keeping NYC very much in my prayers through all of this.

    1. Audrey, I’m not sure where you are but I live in dowtown Mystic in the flood zone and we were issued evacuation warnings. Several robocalls and the police driving past the house with the loud speaker blaring instructions. We know. We left. Can’t speak for the Stonington side but I expect and hope the same thing happened there.

  5. Hey Geoff
    We’ve had a couple of storms dumping heavy rain recently. Is the ground saturated already?
    That’ll definitely be a factor for things like uprooting trees and localized flooding.

  6. Geoff,

    It is such a twist of fate and ironic to be in South Florida right now watching from this vantage point as Hurricane Sandy threatens the North East and the Connecticut Shoreline. The hurricane’s impact here was minimal with nothing more than a glancing blow with increased wave height and surf and some short lived gusty wind conditions.

    Still having a home on the Connecticut shore as well, I too am worried about the storm’s impact, and dread coming back to the aftermath of Sandy’s wrath.

    I don’t envy your task of keeping your viewers up to date, but am thankful for your commitment to keeping everyone safe as Mother Nature unleashes her fury.

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