Jim Visits Bridgeport After Tornado with Mayor Bill Finch and Senator Joe Lieberman
Connecticut Post, Friday, June 25, 2010
As National Weather Service experts confirmed that the massive storm that struck the region Thursday touched down as a tornado, tranquil sunshine beamed on a slew of cleanup efforts, as workers tried to assess damage, open roads and restore power to thousands still in the dark.
The 100-mph twisting winds and driving rain that rolled in swiftly that afternoon, overtaking blue skies with black clouds in minutes, marked one of the most powerful storms to hit Bridgeport in decades.
"We've never seen anything like it," was a common refrain among locals, including the city's mayor and fire chief.
Even Gov. M. Jodi Rell said the storm's destructive power was "a shock to all of us."
The tornado toppled buildings and church steeples, sparked a citywide curfew and displaced 50 families -- but no serious injuries or deaths were
reported.
The National Weather Service had confirmed late Friday morning that an EF1 tornado had touched down around 2:20 p.m. Thursday in the area of East Main, Nichols and Cedar streets, where several brick buildings partially collapsed and flying debris damaged homes.
The twister traveled in an east-northeast direction, cutting a swath about 100 yards wide and two-tenths of a mile long. Other than the East Main site, the aftermath was classified as straight-line wind damage, with measured wind gusts up to 78 mph.
"The tornado touched down for just a short period of time, but it will take several weeks, perhaps months to put so many lives and livelihoods back together," said Rell, who toured the damage Thursday afternoon. "The state today is formally requesting that Federal Emergency Management Agency begin the damage assessment process for everyone affected by yesterday's severe weather as the first step in potential federal disaster assistance."
During a news conference Friday morning, Mayor Bill Finch lifted the curfew and state of emergency imposed shortly after the tornado ripped through. U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, toured the hard-hit East Side later on Friday.
`A sigH of relief'
Like many others, Finch was amazed that despite the destruction released in the city, no one was killed.
He called the feeling, "a community sigh of relief."
But there are serious issues facing the city as it recovers, and recovery work could be hampered by more storms over the weekend. Saturday, Sunday and Monday each have a chance of thunderstorms.
At least nine buildings were in various states of collapse, according to Fire Chief Brian Rooney, although only three of those were occupied before the storm. Several buildings remained unsafe Friday, officials said.
State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said Friday state police K-9 teams had completed their searches in the debris fields of collapsed buildings, finding no bodies.
The number of people injured remained at 25, but that number reflects only people who were taken by ambulance to area hospitals. Many more may have gone on their own or received only minor injuries.
On Friday, most streets in downtown Bridgeport were passable, but police blocked sections of Main Street and officers were stationed to block roads at 57 locations, as significant debris remained littered about the hard-hit areas of downtown, the East End and East Side.
Trouble spots remained Friday near East Main Street and the area near devastated Washington Park.
Slow return to normalcy
Power outages are expected to continue into the weekend for some residents, according to United Illuminating Co. spokeswoman Anita Steeves. UI expected to restore all power within two days, but warned people to stay away from downed wires and dangling lines, which could be live.
A total of 116 Bridgeport workers were involved in cleanup, many pulling double shifts with little sleep, officials said.
"Our public facilities, police, fire and emergency responders responded quickly and effectively as soon as the storm hit to secure streets, damaged buildings and the more than 3,000 emergency calls that were logged in the hours after the storm hit," Finch said in a Friday news release. "We'll be working `round the clock to provide emergency housing for the many people who have been displaced from their homes or apartments, due to power outages or damage to the building."
The city opened shelters on Thursday evening at Barnum-Waltersville and at Cesar Batalla schools for residents who were without power or housing. About 100 people availed themselves of the shelters, but only about nine stayed overnight, according to mayoral spokeswoman Elaine Ficarra.
City building officials determined that both the Arena and the Ballpark at Harbor Yard weren't damaged and scheduled activities at both venues would continue.
But Bridgeport's Barnum Festival was disrupted, as the fireworks display planned for Friday night was postponed until July 10, due to stretched city manpower, and the Swedish Nightingales Jenny Lind concert for Thursday night was postponed to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Playhouse on the Green. Champions on Parade, scheduled for Saturday night at Kennedy Stadium, and the Great Street Parade at 11 a.m. on Sunday will go on as planned, "just at P.T. Barnum would have liked it," Finch said and smiled.
Charlie Carroll, director of the city's Public Facilities Administration, said everyone was pitching in across departments to clean up the city. He said Public Facilities, Parks and Recreation and maintenance crews were out with staff from the Water Pollution Control Authority and maintenance workers from the Board of Education, all removing debris to aid in recovery.
State police began drawing down their troops late Friday morning from the 35 troopers initially rushed to the Park City to help wherever needed with traffic control, security and searches, according to Trooper Kelly Grant.
Finch thanked neighboring communities like Fairfield and Stratford for their aid in the tornado's wake, noting both were also dealing with troubles of their own.
Stratford continued to operate under emergency protocols until 4 p.m. Friday, when it lifted the emergency status and Mayor John Harkins pledged that Lordship, which had been closed to all but local traffic, would be reopened later in the evening.
Several areas of town were still impassable due to downed trees and power lines and the town urged residents to avoid areas where utility and Public Works crews worked throughout the day. Short Beach and Long Beach complexes were also closed until further notice.
In Bridgeport, the storm blew windows out in the old Savoy Hotel and damaged the Eisenhower Senior Center and Barnum Museum downtown, police said.
"We have had some significant damage to the building as well as the collection," said Museum Director Kathleen Maher. "Two Main Street windows completely blew out, allowing all the storm water and wind to howl through the first floor exhibition areas. Additionally, water at the Northwest corner of the building was then able to seep through the first floor into the basement storage area wetting the archival collection of Barnum books."
The building and collection were stabilized and workers were assessing and documenting the damage, she said Friday.
Asked Friday morning if he knew whether the storm was a tornado, Finch responded, "It doesn't matter too much to us if it was a tornado or not; we still have the same mess to clean up."
