Mother Nature dumps on July Fourth celebrations in Connecticut
Torrential rain scattered across Sunday, Monday and Tuesday flooded parts of Connecticut, causing several municipalities to postpone fireworks. It also led to contamination.
Sharon Lewis, a resident of Hartford’s North End that’s not currently living in her home due to past flooding, says this week’s weather resulted in a new wave of sewage damage.
“My neighbor texted me and said, ‘I think you should come home because your front lawn is like a swimming pool.’ So, you know, we braved the downpour and got home and went to the back, because that's where we go to the basement – and the basement hatchway stairs had crumbled,” Lewis said Thursday.
The flooding prompted officials in the city of Bridgeport to alert city residents about the dangers of contamination.
“Hire a qualified professional for cleanup,” read an email from Mayor Joe Ganim’s office. “Everything that was contaminated must be disinfected or discarded.”
Ganim’s office says the city’s evaluating whether the municipal sewer caused flooding. They’re asking city residents to clear catch basins of debris in advance of future heavy rain events.
Meanwhile, the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts, advised residents to avoid the Connecticut River after it announced that more than six million gallons of sewage overflowed into the river.
Towns and cities in Connecticut like New Haven moved fireworks celebrations from earlier in the week to Wednesday after the rain fell.
State Rep. Maryam Khan: ‘I thought I was going to die’
State Rep. Maryam Khan, D-Windsor, spoke to reporters Thursday, a week after she was attacked outside of a Muslim prayer service at Hartford’s XL Center.
Khan wasn’t satisfied with how first responders reacted on June 28, saying she had to convince police and emergency personnel that she was injured.“What was the most difficult these last few days was seeing that the report did not reflect everything that happened to me,” Khan said Thursday. “I thought I was going to die.”
Hartford police say Khan was confronted by a man that tried to prevent her from leaving the XL Center. Police allege the man made unwanted advances and then assaulted Khan.
Andrey Desmond, 30, was charged with assault, unlawful restraint, breach of the peace, and obstructing police. He's being held in lieu of a $250,000 bond. Police say he could face additional charges.
“He made comments stating that he intended to have sexual relations with one of us,” Khan said, speaking in euphemism to disguise the alleged attacker’s explicit remarks. “And he looked at each one of us, including my 15-year-old daughter.”
Khan says she suffered a concussion and that her right arm and shoulder have been numb since the attack.
Frankie & Johnny premieres Fridays at 4:44 p.m. during All Things Considered on Connecticut Public Radio. Connecticut Public Radio’s Abigail Brone, Lori Mack, Kay Perkins, Chris Polansky, Patrick Skahill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
