Gov. Ned Lamont and other state leaders met at an intersection of downed trees and power lines in Harwinton on Tuesday morning, surveying the damage caused by storms over the July 4th weekend.
“Go right down this street, you see one tree after another, like toothpicks getting blown over,” Lamont said. “Looks like tornadoes with the damage that was done.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes were also in attendance, promising to pursue all options for federal aid.
“We want to make sure that the people in communities that are much smaller, feel like they're getting the exact same amount of relief as the capital would if this were to happen in Hartford,” Hayes said.
“It's important for the state and federal partners to work together, because these are really small towns. So by comparison, the population isn't as large, so they may not meet the threshold on their own. So we really have to work together to give them the relief,” she said.
That relief could come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Small Business Administration or SNAP food benefits, according to Blumenthal.
“We’ll leave no stone unturned in terms of federal aid,” he said. “The magnitude and the scope and scale of what we're seeing certainly warrants federal relief.”
Blumenthal encouraged residents to document and photograph damage to their homes and businesses.
“The insurance companies will take advantage of people if they fail to keep track of the damage,” he said.
“The insurance companies need to honor their obligation and we’re going to be after them. We’ll hammer them if they fail to come through with what they owe these homeowners and businesses.”
More than 200 people in Harwinton were without power Tuesday afternoon, according to Eversource.
The utility company says it restored power to more than 155,000 customers across Connecticut and plans to restore power to almost all customers by 11:45pm Tuesday night.
“Lingering wet and stormy weather following the initial July 4 storm have resulted in approximately 22,000 new customer outages. In addition, 52 blocked roads were reported yesterday. These additional impacts have challenged our ability to move more quickly on restoring outages,” according to Eversource’s website.
Harwinton’s municipal buildings were closed on Tuesday. The town hall was open as a cooling center where people can get bottled water and charge electronics. The town hopes to re-open all buildings on Wednesday.
In addition to Harwinton, Torrington saw severe damage from the storm.
Torrington Police Chief William Baldwin said the north end of the city suffered uprooted trees, and several homes were struck by falling tree limbs.
“You just see tree litter all over the place. It's everywhere. You see limbs down, you see people's yards that they've maintained so well, just a complete mess,” Baldwin said.
Homes and cars were struck with golf ball-sized hailstones as large as 2 to 3 inches in diameter, according to Baldwin.
“I don't think anyone expected the severity of the storm to be what it turned out to be,” he said.
Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member, covering the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public. Matt Dwyer contributed reporting
