Some worried Darien residents have taken matters into their own hands, filling bags at Pear Tree Point Beach to block potential flooding (Kristen Riolo photo)
Darien’s transfer station has gotten a limited number of sandbags, first-come, first-served, but some Darien residents are going the more old-fashioned route, filling their own garbage bags at town beaches.
Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said the town’s volunteer fire departments are going door to door in low-lying areas along the coast, urging residents to evacuate.
“We are most concerned about the next two high tide cycles. The tide never really receded. We’re told our tides could be 10 to 15 feet above normal high tide, so it is very important for people, if they are considering evacuating, they do it soon, before the next high tide,” Stevenson said.
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The next high tide is estimated to be at noon Monday.
Stevenson said winds are expected to reach their peak sometime mid-afternoon, and those sustained winds could be from 40 to 60 miles per hour, with gusts up to 80 to 90 miles per hour.
She said the state requires all emergency responders off the road when winds reach 50 miles per hour, so “there may be time periods when we won’t be able to have any responders or utilities out on the roads.”
Ring’s End Road was already under water as of 10:30 Monday morning. Gov. Malloy has already closed I95 and the Merritt Parkway to any non-emergency traffic as of 1 p.m. Darien had 25 customers without power as of 10:30 Monday. Stevenson told The Darien TImes earlier there is already a Connecticut Light & Power tree and line crew on location in town to respond.
