Branford Evacuates Shoreline Areas for Hurricane Sandy

Press release from Town of Branford, 10-28-2012, noon

The Town of Branford has declared a state of emergency for its anticipated arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

Mandatory evacuations are ordered for all coastal areas, areas along the Branford River, and anywhere where home owners experienced flooding during Hurricane Irene as well as all off shore islands no later than 8:00 p.m. this evening. It is imperative that mandatory evacuations be followed and those residents who choose to stay must be aware that public safety units may be unable to respond to your requests for service for up to 48 hours. Sheltering outside of the affected area with family and friends is highly recommended especially for those who are elderly.

Shelters will be open this afternoon starting at 4:00 p.m. located at the Branford High School at 185 East Main Street and the Mary Murphy School at 14 Brushy Plain Road for those families that require sheltering with pets. 

This is a significant storm and all Branford residents are urged to prepare. Sandy’s storm force winds of up to 80 mph are expected to affect Branford around midnight Sunday evening and are expected to become increasingly worse in the succeeding 36 hours. Heavy rains are forecasted with up to 6” of accumulations. Storm surges are predicted to be worse than what we experienced in Hurricane Irene and have been compared to the 1938 Hurricane.

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For breaking news and Hurricane Sandy updates, check out Branford Patch Facebook and Twitter and on our Topic Page.

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Residents should prepare for extended power outages and major to severe coastal flooding. Many roadways are expected to flood.

Those requiring community shelters should review the town’s Evacuation and Sheltering Guide that is available online at www.branford-ct.gov, and following the Office of Emergency Management link on the left side of the page. The guide offers a vast amount of preparedness information including the recommendation for families to be self sufficient for up to 3 days after the storm, and what items are necessary for sheltering you and your pets.

All public schools have been canceled for Monday and Tuesday.
All town wide garbage collection is suspended until further notice however the Town’s Transfer Station will be open as normal.