SOUTHBURY, Conn. — A Southbury couple that endured Sunday's torrential rain is working to rebuild after they lost their livelihood and property.
A mudslide that started on high ground on the Bridle Trail cut across Rt. 67 and through residents' backyards.
“I keep thinking back on how my birds lost their lives in this tragedy and it’s haunting me,” said Cathy Dibner of Southbury.
Dibner owns Cathy’s House of Chickens and only has one small coop left. More than 100 birds and 36 show breeds were swept away in the torrential rain.
“I locked them up that night at 7:45 and that’s the last time I ever saw them,” said Dibner.
As Kathy retreated to bed Sunday, she was unaware that a blocked culvert on the nearby Bridal Trail, a popular hiking destination, was building up pressure behind it. A wall of water that built up behind the culvert would eventually let go. It created a torrent of rushing water and a slurry of mud and debris that cut right through her backyard.
“I woke up to my house rumbling and the sound of an ocean in my backyard. You could hear all the buildings between the pavillion the pool house and the barn collapsing,” said Dibner.
The family's pavilion is destroyed, the swimming pool is invisible, solar panels have been erased and boats and trailers have been tossed.
But the most devastating loss was the chicken barn. It was a large steel frame structure. Only a covered concrete pad remains.
“When I came out here with a flashlight and saw that my barn was gone I dropped to the ground and was just screaming oh my God it’s all gone,” recalled Dibner.
Kathy immediately called her husband Eric, who was trapped at a friend’s house in Oxford.
“It was pretty stressful because I couldn’t get home,” recalled Eric Dibner, “I was stuck in Oxford and I got home as soon as I could.”
Despite the devastation, there is a silver lining.
“My family is good. My house is intact. A couple of cracked windows but we are all alive,” said Eric Dibner.
The Dibners have a driving force to start over.
“I am going to rebuild and it’s going to be stronger, better and bigger than it was before,” said Kathy Dibner.
The Dibners said they don’t know what comes next. They have just started talking with their insurance company and are also speaking with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who expressed interest in touring the property.
The family is thanking the Southbury community for overwhelming support and kindness. They have created a GoFundMe page to help them rebuild.
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