Most City Households Regain Power

News release from Mayor Bill Finch:

The City of Bridgeport slowly returned to normal operation as of Sunday at 2 p.m., with all roads reported open and passable; UI reported 1,484 or 2.62% of the City’s 56,703 households still without power.

“I want to thank all the City workers and community partners who worked together to ensure that our City came through this storm without any loss of life or significant injuries. It’s far from over, especially since we still have many residents without power, but we are focused on restoring a sense of normalcy as quickly as possible. To those residents without power, be assured that UI crews are working around the clock to restore your power as soon as possible,” said Mayor Bill Finch.

“We’re also very thankful for the people, both in the city and in neighboring towns, who have opened their doors and their hearts to our residents, many of whom have lost most of their possessions and the use of their homes due to the heavy flooding we experienced here. Their collective kindness and compassion is appreciated by all,” he added.

Since Friday, the Emergency Operations Center and the Health Department have distributed about 30,000 meals ready-to-eat (MREs) to city residents who experienced power outages or damaged homes due to the storm. Residents who have any questions regarding food distribution should call the Emergency Operations Center at (203) 579-3829.

As of Sunday morning:

All city roads have been cleared and are open to vehicular traffic

The Bridgeport Board of Education opened 26 schools on Friday morning. The Board of Education will be making an announcement later today (Sunday) on the status of all schools for tomorrow. Bridgeport was the first district in the area to open its schools.

All City polling places will be open for Tuesday, Election Day. Only one polling place has been changed due to storm damage–voters who normally cast their ballots at Longfellow School will now vote at the Regional Aquaculture School located at 60 St. Stephen’s Road, about two blocks away. Residents can check the location of their polling place on the Secretary of the State’s web site at www.ct.gov/sots–click on the Polling Place Finder.

Federal Assistance:

The 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.

Business owners who have suffered storm damage should register with the Small Business Administration at SBA.gov, or call the customer service line at 1-800-659.2955.

Stats About the Storm (as of 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.

* More than 60 city streets experienced flooding.

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

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

* The City has processed nearly 600 BConnected Citizen Service Requests.

* City officials inspected nearly 1,400 buildings, 224 of those buildings experienced both major and minor storm-related damage.

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

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