EAST LYME, Conn. — Public works crews spent hours clearing out water, rocks and sand from Atlantic Street in Niantic after the shoreline experienced flooding during Monday morning’s storm.
“We had about three feet of water in this. It flooded out this whole area and made it like an island so it took about 10 hours to have it all drain out,” East Lyme Public Works Director Joe Bragaw said.
MLK Jr. Day would have been the DPW crew’s day off, but bulldozers and street cleaners worked into the evening to clean up the streets.
“We’re trying to clean everything up on the street to make it passable before the freeze comes in,” Bragaw said. “This time of year, if you leave all that water, it’s just going to be a block of ice down here so we’re trying to get at it before it freezes up.”
Neighbor Debra Bennett watched from her window as the waves came in Monday morning.
“The waves were cresting. Some of the waves hit the top of the house,” Bennett said.
She and other neighbors put out sandbags, but she says the floodwaters came into her garage.
“It was up to our knees so in a matter of about a half-hour, it rose quickly,” Bennett said. “We had a lot of mess down there that we had to clean up.”
“We’re all safe, everyone’s okay and that’s what matters,” she added.
She said they lost some siding on the house, but the rest of the home and cars were fine and she’s thankful they didn’t lose power.
Bragaw said the last time he remembers the area got this bad was Superstorm Sandy back in 2012.
Elisha Machado is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at emachado@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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