Towns and cities across Connecticut are preparing for a winter storm approaching that could drop as much as a foot of snow and cast blizzard-like conditions statewide Monday night into Wednesday morning.
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart is calling a meeting Monday in the city's Emergency Operations Center to review the forecast and plan with public works and emergency services officials for the storm. The city will decide whether to activate the center that afternoon.
"In the meantime, I advise all our residents to make sure they and their families are prepared for whatever may come," Stewart said. "Tomorrow morning, we will be announcing whether and where any warming centers will be opened for emergency shelter during the event. Residents should assume there will be a parking ban in effect beginning late Monday night and running throughout Tuesday.”
Many streets in New Britain were left unplowed for days in the February blizzard of 2013, leaving residents stranded. Tim O'Brien was mayer at the time and the city ordered an independent review of its emergency procedures. The study called New Britain "a city potentially put at risk" and made several recommendation to improve emergency operations, including updating an outdated radio system. O'Brien said at the time that the city also identified many of the recommendations made in the study in its own internal review and that the radio system upgrade was in the works before the blizzard hit that year.
As for now, Stewart said that "government is most effective when everyone is communicating and sharing information."
“I want to make sure that we are prepared for every eventuality," Stewart said. "As with every storm, we hope for the best, but plan for the worst.”
