Hurricane season starts June 1 and more than 82,000 homes in Connecticut could see significant damage if any category hurricane surges in the state, according to a new CoreLogic report.
Another 67,207 other would be harmed too, but only by a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, which has never hit and it’s very unlikely one will.
Allen Fee, owner of Shaffer’s Marina on Masons Island Road in Mystic, has learned his lesson when it comes to storms. He now puts heavy equipment on wheels and bought pilings that can withstand very high waters.
“Tie everything down so it won’t float away. Put everything high,” Fee said.
More than five years later he still has peeling paint, some rust, and dents in one wall from where a freezer floated away during Sandy.
Water from the cove swelled into the street and into his shop. Even boats blocked on land started to float, according to Fee.
“You really enjoy (the water) but there’s times when you get a little bit of anxiety,” he said.
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It’s not just the hurricanes, Fee said. Nor’easters bring a lot of problems, too. Plus water in the road blocks the only way in and out of Masons Island.
Stonington’s Emergency Management Director George Brennan is pooling together emergency staff and making sure they’re prepared.
“We’re as susceptible as any coastal community in Connecticut. We’re fortunate that the storms that have hit us, have hit us at a low tide,” Brennan said.
Residents need to be able to take care of themselves for 72 hours, according to Brennan. He advises packing a kit with any medications, bedding and clothes. And ensuring people have a gallon or two of water per person, per day, especially if the power goes out and a household relies on well water.
