More utility resources are heading to the state to help ongoing cleanup and power restoration efforts, crews that will be directed to areas still struggling to recover from Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said this afternoon in his latest briefing on the storm's aftermath.
Malloy said he knows some residents and town leaders are getting frustrated with the pace of the recovery in their towns and with the ongoing power outages. He said he understands the growing anticipation but suggested greater patience.
“Crews are working hard to clean up and working hard to restore power. But I also know people who don’t have power are beginning to lose patience. Trust me, I get it. The utilities will have estimates tomorrow on when all power will be restored. I will do my best to hold them accountable to the people of Connecticut.
“We had in many parts of our state, the equivalent of a category 4 (hurricane). We saw roads that were washed out, homes that were washed away. We’re going to be at this for a while. At the same time, we’re going to drive everyone on our team … to do as much as they can and as quickly as they can.”
William Quinlan, a senior vice president for CL&P, said the company has restored power to 350,000 customers so far, with about 325,000 remaining in the dark.
Malloy said he and Wyman traveled around the state again today assessing damage from the hurricane. He said they also visited with crews working to restore power and that they were “both heartened and impressed by how hard people are working and how resilient the people of Connecticut are.”
Malloy also reiterated a point he made in his morning briefing today: The decision on whether to allow Halloween trick-or-treating is one that the state can’t make.
“It’s a local call and local officials know they are the people who control what’s going on in their communities.”
Other highlights from the governor’s briefing included:
- The number of cases of carbon monoxide poisonings has risen to 11 so far. Malloy again stressed that anyone cooking or heating with a combustible source, such as a propane heater or grill, must vent it to the outside.
- Businesses and municipalities in the four counties that have been declared a federal disaster area, Middlesex, Fairfield, New Haven and New London, must register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency before seeking benefits. They can register by calling 800.622.3362 or 800. 462.7585 for the hearing impaired. They can also visit www.ct.gov/sandy for more information.
- Residents are beginning to call the state requesting to volunteer to help those impacted by the storm. Malloy said they can visit www.ct.gov/sandy to find information on volunteering.
- The Red Cross is reporting a shortfall of blood donations. Anyone wishing to donate blood can call 1-800-Redcross, or visit www.redcrossblog.org.
- There are now 15 school district that will remain closed tomorrow and 13 that have reported they will stay closed on Friday.
- Malloy urged those who have gotten their power back but no cable or landline telephone service to call their providers and report the outage “because they won’t know if you are out unless you call.”
- Metro-North rail service to and from New York City will resume tomorrow out of Stamford, but parking at that station is limited.
