Storm Update From Finch

From Mayor Bill Finch:

As the City of Bridgeport continues the restoration and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Bill Finch, today praised all those involved for their work in helping prevent any major incident following the City being hit by an unprecedented storm.

“I’m very impressed with how everyone has worked together to help keep Bridgeport safe during these challenging times,” said Mayor Finch. “We’re doing everything we can possibly do to help bring life back to normal as quickly and safely as possible following Hurricane Sandy. Thanks to our preparation and collaboration we were able to get through this storm without any loss of life.”

Storm Sandy Update:

The City will distribute emergency meals ready to eat to families in need of assistance due to Storm Sandy-related damages and power outages today, Friday, Nov. 2, from 12 – 5 p.m. at Kennedy Stadium. Residents who have any questions regarding food distribution should call the Emergency Operations Center at (203) 579-3829.

Nearly all roads have been cleared of trees and debris following the storm. For all continued issues with trees in the road, please call the City’s Roadway Department at 203-576-7124.

The Bridgeport Board of Education opened 26 schools on Friday morning. Bridgeport is the first district in the area to open its schools. The remaining schools have not opened yet because their power was not restored Thursday evening.

· According to United Illuminating, as of 12 p.m. there are 12,000 Bridgeport customers without electricity. On Thursday, UI announced that they “expect to have 95 percent of all customers restored with power before midnight, Monday, November 5.”

· The City’s Mass Care Shelter at Cesar Batalla School remains open.

· Nearly all of the City’s polling stations’ power has been restored. The Secretary of State will tour polling locations without power on Friday.

· Bridgeport Police Department continues to work in tandem with the National Guard to ensure public safety.

Stats About the Storm (as of 11 a.m. Nov. 2):

Beach and harbor areas of Bridgeport experienced 10-foot storm surges. The tidal surges were equivalent to Category 4 Hurricanes in some areas of the city.

Over 60 city streets experienced flooding.

At one point during the storm, Bridgeport was hit with a sustained wind (wind lasting more than 2 minutes) from Sandy that clocked in at 75 miles per hour.

The Emergency Operations Center received an average of over 200 storm-related calls per day since Sunday.

The City has processed nearly 600 BConnected Citizen Service Requests.

Nearly 1,400 buildings were inspected by City officials, with 224 of those building experiencing both major and minor storm-related damage.

The City’s Mass Care Shelters has served more than 25,000 meals and provided more than 30,000 bottles of water.

Federal Assistance:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established a Disaster Recovery Center in Bridgeport at Housatonic Community College, 900 Lafayette Boulevard (residents should enter the State Street entrance of the college).

The Disaster Recovery Center is open:
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information on FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers go to www.fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers.

Residents seeking federal assistance must register with FEMA. Call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or register online, disasterassistance.gov.

For storm-related incidents call the Emergency Operations Center at 203.579.3829

To report a power outage call 1-800-7-CALLUI.

For emergencies call 911