East Haven

East Haven Hit With Rain, Wind and Flooding Friday

Massive waves crashed into homes on the shore and residents just blocks away experienced significant flooding.

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The high winds, heavy rain and flooding came early in East Haven Friday morning.

Flood waters left streets littered with garbage cans and debris, making travel difficult.

"It got to the point where you almost needed a kayak or a boat to get out of here,” said Franco Cavallaro of East Haven.

Franco Cavallaro has lived on the shoreline in East Haven for four years. Today, he woke up to massive waves and water rising in his basement.

"Seven feet of water. It's a crawl space, but still it was full,” he said.

Mayor Joseph Carfora says crews were out monitoring the area early Friday morning and especially around high tide. 

"We're used to stuff like this happening on the shoreline it's some of the new residents that moved in last year that we're kind of concerned about,” Carfora said.

That is true for Hannah Scott, who moved to the shoreline a year and a half ago.

“This is really the first big storm event that we've been here for,” Scott said.

While she lives far enough from the beach to avoid a flood, she may be dealing with a freeze once temperatures drop. For Christmas, her plans involve traveling to West Virginia.

"So, we have a bit of a drive ahead of us, and hopefully the roads are clear by the time we get there, but who knows. We'll just have to take it slow, I guess,” Scott said.

One woman regularly comes to Connecticut for the holidays. Her social media even reminded her what the weather was like one year ago today.

"It was a gorgeous sunny day. Calm ocean, no waves. It was so different,” said Nancy Innocenti of Boston, MA.

Hoping these floodwaters clear, communities like East Haven are bracing for ice as temperatures are expected to drop Friday night.

Town officials say be aware of weather conditions and take it nice and easy on the road, if you do head out. 

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