Crews continued their efforts Monday to restore electricity after Saturday night's heavy storms cut power to nearly 100,000 customers across Connecticut.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, Eversource said more than 30,000 customers were without power. That's down from Sunday evening, when more than 50,000 customers were without power. Outages were reported mainly in southern and western Connecticut.
Repairs could take several days, officials said.
Power restoration is happening as rain continued to fall Monday and a flood watch is in effect for the state of Connecticut.
"Widespread rainfall amounts of 1-3 inches are expected into Tuesday," the National Weather Service said. "However, narrow bands of torrential rainfall may result in localized amounts of 4-6 inches of rain inside 6 hours."
Eversource said it was bringing in crews from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Canada to assist with restoration efforts.
“This storm was significantly more powerful and widespread than was forecasted and caused substantial damage in several states throughout the entire region, including Connecticut, and we continue to assess the widespread and extensive damage to the electric system,” Don Scacco, Eversource’s president of Connecticut electric operations, said in a statement.
United Illuminating said about 170 customers were without power as of Monday morning, down from 200 customers on Sunday evening.
Various roads were closed over the weekend due to downed trees and power lines, particularly in northwestern Connecticut.
Gov. Ned Lamont said the state’s emergency response team remains in contact with affected towns.
"Connecticut has been through storms like this before, and we get through them by looking out for one another," he said in a statement. "Stay safe."
The rain comes as Connecticut is experiencing drought conditions. According to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor released last Thursday, Connecticut is in a moderate drought, but the southwest corner of Fairfield County is in a severe drought.
Storm recovery tips
The Connecticut governor's office has the following tips:
- People who rely on medically necessary equipment and lose power, or if you have an emergency, should call 911.
- Stay clear of downed power lines. Assume they are live and dangerous; report them to the utility company right away.
- For real-time updates on state road closures, visit CTroads.org. Obey all signage when approaching road closures.
- For non-emergency help, contact your town’s local officials. Visit www.211ct.org or call 211 for more information.
- Sign up for emergency alerts at portal.ct.gov/ctalert.
- Always operate emergency generators outdoors, at least 15 to 20 feet away from a home, with exhaust pointing away from doors, windows, and vents.
Connecticut Public's Eric Aasen and Jennifer Ahrens contributed to this report.
