Historic flooding in Connecticut forces evacuations and water rescues

Historic flooding in parts of Connecticut closed roads, forced water rescues and caused mudslides on Sunday.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the risk for catastrophic flooding in Fairfield and New Haven counties through the evening.

The Southbury Police Department asked residents in a Facebook post to stay home while roads were closed and crews responded to emergencies. In nearby Danbury, city officials said in a statement that a mudslide prompted the evacuation of a home.

Some parts of Connecticut, including Woodbury, received over 6 inches of rain within hours. Emergency crews responded to multiple car rescues as vehicles were overcome by heavy waters on the roadways. Drivers were seen evacuating cars that were floating down streets.

Over 10" of rain in about 12 hours around Oxford and Southbury is close to a 1-in 1000 year flood. That means rain totals like these have an approximately 0.1% chance of occurring in any given year. An exceptional event. pic.twitter.com/GoZinQ4m0o

— Ryan Hanrahan (@ryanhanrahan) August 18, 2024

Firefighters in Munroe are urging area residents to stay off the roads unless as they respond to rescues in Monroe from high water. Fire officials say the Stevenson section was hit particularly hard.

Flash flood warnings were also posted for parts of southeastern New York, and flash flood watches and advisories were in effect for areas of Delaware, New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, with forecasters warning of floods in low-lying areas.