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River Floods Should Miss Fairfield

This winter’s snow might finally be on its way out, but Fairfield County’s troubles from it are not done yet. Melting snow upstate coupled with steady downpours led to massive flooding along some of Connecticut’s rivers Monday and could do the same with more rain in the forecast for late Wednesday. But Fairfield was mostly untouched by flooding earlier this week. Deputy Fire Chief Art Reid, the town’s assistant director of emergency management, doesn’t expect the next storm to cause major problems, either.

“Generally, the topography in our area doesn’t really lend itself to river flooding,” Reid said. He explained that there are two types of flooding that can affect southwestern Connecticut. Fairfield mostly experiences coastal flooding, when water rushes in from Long Island Sound onto beachfront areas. High winds and tides cause that type of flooding, as opposed to heavy rain.

The type of flooding that hit areas such as Westport, Wilton and Weston is river overflow, which occurs when there’s simply too much water for riverbeds to handle. Fairfield doesn’t sit on the banks of a major river such as the Saugatuck or the Housatonic, so the town generally doesn’t need to worry about this brand of flood.

Still, Reid suggests watching out for large puddles of standing water when driving. Driving into them could easily cause cars to stall. “What looks like a little water could easily be two feet,” he said. Another tip is to not cross running water. Reid said even one foot of water is enough to knock down a walking person. And, if the water’s traveling fast enough, it could even shift a car.

The National Weather Service has a river flood warning in effect for the Housatonic, which is still more than two feet over its flood mark, and is affecting neighborhoods of Shelton. It also issued a flood watch for the Fairfield County area, with two to four inches of rain expected starting late Wednesday night through Friday morning.

What do you do to prepare for floods? Share your advice with your neighbors in the comments below.

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