Hurricane Sandy: Town of Branford Update

This is a press release from the Town of Branford, Oct. 27

The Town of Branford is actively preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. 

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 10” of accumulations. Storm surges are predicted to be worse than what we experienced in Hurricane Irene,

Residents should prepare for extended power outages and major coastal flooding. Many roadways are expected to flood due to clogged roadway drainage from falling leaves.

At this time there are no mandatory evacuations, however residents who live in flood plane areas must consider evacuation plans. However, I will be notifying residents tomorrow at noon of any mandatory evacuations if necessary.

________________________________________________________________________________________

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

___________________________________________________________________________________

In the event that emergency shelters are needed, the town will notify residents when shelters are open. Most likely the Town will utilize 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.

All town wide garbage collection is suspended until further notice however the Town’s Transfer Station will be open as normal.

The town’s Evacuation and Sheltering Guide is available online at www.branford-ct.gov,  and following the Office of Emergency Management link on the left side of the page as well as in Branford’s public libraries. 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.

In addition, please go to our website at www.branfordpolice.com and follow the B-informed link. There you will be able to tailor the information you would like to receive in the future and register different ways to be notified including cell phones, pagers and email address.