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Sunday, August 28, 2011

08/28/11 Power Outages On The Rise As Hurricane Irene Moves Into Town - In Greenwich, 7451 Are Without Power

Trees are down all over, and 7,451 are without power and Greenwich authorities are scrambling to keep up with reports of flooding as an onslaught of wind gusts and pouring rain hits the town with the eye of Hurricane Irene on its way.

Large sections of Byram and Pemberwick are under water.

The Greenwich Police Department and DPW are struggling to get major East - West and North - South routes open.

Though meteorologists said Sunday morning that the eye of the storm would hit between Bridgeport and Stamford at about 11 a.m. -- during high tide -- the impact of the storm is already being felt throughout Greenwich.

Countless town road closures are expected as the storm, the first to hit Greenwich as a hurricane in 26 years, strikes.

Long before the storm makes landfall, Greenwich residents are expect very heavy rainfall and tropical-storm-force winds. The worst impacts of the storm for most of us will be Sunday morning, even before the eye of the storm moves through.

The late-morning high tide could cause historic flooding in Greenwich.

Areas that normally don't take on water during the nastiest of storms will likely experience some flooding at high tide with Irene.

The storm brings with it the potential for devastating flooding, wind damage and power loss at a magnitude rarely seen in Greenwich.

As residents of low-lying coastal areas of town cleared out of their homes through the day Saturday into the night, rain began to fall and wind gusts increased.

The Meritt Parkways has remained open in Greenwich.

State officials will be watching wind speeds and tree damage on the parkways in order to make a closure decision.

Heavy rain began falling Saturday night, and town residents should expected the heaviest rainfall to last until at least Sunday at noon.

The strongest winds started around 1 a.m. Sunday and are expected to continue through 5 p.m.

The worst weather in general started at around 2 a.m. Sunday and is expected to end by 1 p.m., with the high tide around 11 a.m. causing dangerous coastal flooding.

Most of the extreme weather is in advance of the storm.

Greenwich residents need to be prepared for the storm to hang over the state for a long time, and it will strike at high tide.

The high tide will make flooding more intense along the shoreline of Greenwich.

Irene is hitting the state at the "worst time possible" - right around 11 a.m. when high tide occurs.

Hurricane Gloria hit during low tide during 1985, resulting in storm surges around 5 to 6 feet. The 1938 hurricane hit during high tide, causing extensive damage.

President Barack Obama declared an emergency for Connecticut earlier Saturday and ordered federal aid to help state and local response efforts.

The president's action, requested by the state's congressional delegation, authorizes the national Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate disaster relief efforts along with state and Greenwich officials.

Governor Malloy said at 9 p.m. that he had just signed an agreement with FEMA to accept federal funds.

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