Community Corner

Connecticut Preparing for Stormy Weather

Officials this week will go over strategy for the impending storm season.


With several major storms in our recent past, and the attendant painful power outages they caused, the state is taking early precautions this year on how to handle storm season. 

The hurricane season started June 1 and state emergency and utility officials will hold a two-day storm preparedness drill starting today, June 20, which North Branford is participating in, led by Town Manager Mike Paulhus, who is also serving as Emergency Management Director. 

“We must always look to improve the way we respond to an emergency so that when disaster strikes, the state’s utility companies and every level of government have a clear mission and goal,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a prepared statement.  

“Storms and other emergencies are inevitable, but the more we all work together, the more we can limit the impact of those disasters so that aid reaches those most in need of help; roads, schools and businesses can re-open more quickly; and communities can return to normal sooner than might otherwise be possible.”

The two-day exercise will be held over two, one-day drills. Each day’s drill is designed to test a specific, unique set of protocols dealing with various responses.

The federal government has declared states of emergency in Connecticut five times since 2011, including after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and a snowstorm that hit the state in October of 2011. Both storms left hundreds of thousands of utility customers in the dark for days. 

Last year the state also was hit by Hurricane Sandy, which devastated portions of the shoreline, and then a huge blizzard this past February.

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