Stonington Regains Footing After Sandy

It’s been weeks since Hurricane Sandy came to our shores and devastated many towns in our state. The storm left a path of destruction, and left thousands in the dark for days; that was especially the case in Stonington.

“Twenty-nine percent of our population [are] seniors, so a lot of them were really struggling without power,” said First Selectman Ed Haberek.
 
It’s been almost two weeks since power was restored in the town, where people are still working to regain footing.
 
Halloween was one sign that things are slowly returning to normal; Stonington was among the last towns in Connecticut to celebrate the holiday, Friday.
 
While many welcome the return to normalcy, others want answers from CL&P.
 
“I didn’t think they did a good job. We got a phone call before the storm, saying they were prepared for this. Obviously, they weren’t,” said Kim Buck.
 
Haberek said he doesn’t understand why the power company wasn’t ready for the storm, considering what it dealt with last year.
 
“Last year, in [Tropical Storm Irene], they wanted to do a lot of changes. We worked with them on some of the enhancements, and we still really struggled this year.”
 
Some residents, like Frank Todisco, hope long-term power outages, like what Stonington endured through Hurricane Sandy, isn’t the new normal.
 
“[We will have to wait] until the next one.”
 
A representative for CL&P told NBC Connecticut the power company understands people were frustrated about losing power. They added that the company itself also dealt with severe damage to some of their electrical systems as a result of the storm.
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