The roar of generators could be heard as hundreds of thousands of people across the state lost power following Tropical Storm Isaias.
“I saw the power flicker a couple of times. All of a sudden it just all went out. And I heard a loud bang," West Hartford resident Rob Griffith explained.
Griffith discovered a large part of a tree came crashing down outside his home on Nursery Drive in West Hartford. Branches blocked the road and landed on several of Griffith’s vehicles parked in the driveway.
“It’s just been tricky in the middle of this pandemic right now. To lose power on top of this we have a newborn baby inside. We’re laughing on the outside but it’s been weird," he said.
Across West Hartford police reported more than 50 streets and intersections were impacted by downed lines, fallen trees or power outages.
In Hartford, trees or branches were down on street after street. Police reported dozens of storm-related calls and in Bushnell Park there will be lots of clean up ahead, including following a giant tree that was uprooted.
“It was intense. My next door neighbor has a tin roof on his shed. You heard that rattle and I thought it was going to blow off," Carol Griffith of West Hartford said.
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The damage is not limited to the Hartford area. In Shelton, residents were shaken when a massive tree slammed through a home on Jefferson Street.
"It just rolled in really quick, really fast. Too fast. Scary," homeowner Christen Perry told NBC Connecticut.
The large branches pieced through the roof and landed in the living room. Perry and her sister own the home and said their tenant was there at the time.
"She was in the basement doing laundry and heard a crack," Perry said.
"Just thank God no one got hurt. That's all we can...it's been a long day," she added.
In Hamden, Rama Gaffary was at work when his neighbors called. A tree in his front yard lifted up chunks of the road, pulled on powerlines and crushed his roof. He said everything is replaceable and is grateful no one was hurt.
"None of us are home, so that's the most important thing," Gaffary said.
And in Southington, another neighborhood saw large trees come down, but they missed the homes.
"This is incredible. Tree down, neighbor's tree down, my neighbor's tree is about to come down. So it's incredible," resident John Kolosky said.
The uprooted tree caused a gas leak that was quickly shut off.
PHOTOS: Tropical Storm Isaias Rips Across Connecticut
Police and fire departments all across the state continue to deal with a flurry of calls and ask the public to avoid traveling the mess of the roads if possible.
An Eversource spokesperson said they are already racing to restore power to people. Crews had been positioned around the state before the storm and the utility has resources out of state it can also rely on.
“Everybody who's available is on tonight we will have, we will be working 24/7. We will have crews working overnight and we will have a fresh complement of crews working tomorrow morning, first thing in the morning," Eversource spokesperson Al Lara said. The company reaches out for mutual aid when they need it in times like these and does expect to see some help come in the coming days.
“It might be a while but I’m kind of lucky. We don’t have power but nothing happened to anyone in the neighborhood," Kevin Kinsella of West Hartford said.
Eversource had no estimate for when everyone would be restored Tuesday night. Before they can figure that out, the priority in the daylight Wednesday is to check all the damage which they already believe to be significant.
