Record setting downpours flood Fairfield County

Weather stations in Oxford, Connecticut recorded 16.31 inches of rain on Sunday, August 18. That is over 3 inches more rain than the previous 24-hour rainfall record of 12.77 inches on August 19 in 1955, further north in Burlington during Hurricane Diane.

For reference, the average annual rainfall for Stamford in the past 15 years has been 51.61 inches, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).

Rainfall on this scale is considered extremely rare, a “once in a thousand years” event, although many once rare and record setting events are becoming increasingly common as the result of progressing climate change.

“This was an historic storm in some areas of Connecticut,” said Governor Ned Lamont in a press release the day of the storm.

“The sudden and severe flooding has caused significant damage to infrastructure in the western portion of the state, resulting in evacuations, rescues, and more than two dozen road closures that we anticipate will need to be closed for an extended period,” Lamont said as he declared a state of emergency across the region while in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. “This emergency declaration may help expedite some of the resources needed for us to respond to this situation, and in particular can help prioritize potential federal resources such as equipment and work crews that can assist state and local crews with repairing infrastructure damage.”

On August 21, the state’s request for Direct Federal Assistance was approved by President Joe Biden.

As of Thursday August 22, four state roads in Fairfield County remain closed due to flood damage.

Those roads include the Newtown Turnpike, consisting of State Route 53 between Weston and Redding, and Route 34 in Monroe between Route 111 and Loughlin Road. Outages in those areas, possibly a safety measure for repair crews, were logged by Eversource as well.

Anthony Allen, the director of restoration strategy at Save the Sound a Stamford nonprofit in Stamford told Connecticut Public Radio in an interview that larger storms are a consequence of a hotter planet.

“When we have a warmer atmosphere, it can hold more water,” Allen said. “When we have warmer Atlantic Ocean temperatures and the surface temperatures in the Atlantic are off the charts this year, they’re really, really high … you’re going to get more storm systems developing.”

“We’re just going to get more of these storms coming up from the Atlantic and it can rain a whole lot in a short period of time,” Allen told Connecticut Public.

Receiving more than a foot of rain over the course of a day is devastating not only for the communities where it happens, but to those that are down river from them and will have to handle much of the same water in addition to their own rainfall.

While Oxford in New Haven County was the site of last weekend’s worst flooding including two deaths and a dramatic scene where a house was swept away by the storm. Northern Fairfield County also saw intense downpours, with Newtown reporting 12.45 inches.

Damage was reported across the region, ranging from flooding along the Five Mile River in New Canaan and damage to infrastructure and buildings in the greater Danbury area.

Congressman Jim Himes urged all residents who were impacted by the rains and flooding to reach out to their town halls and make use of the CT Department of Emergency and Homeland Security Residential Damage Assessment Form, found at https://crisistrack.juvare.com/public/CTDEMHS/request.html