25°
Blumenthal, Himes and Blatchford inspected Sandy damage and recovery at Sound School in New Haven and Marina Village in Bridgeport before finishing their tour in Stamford.
All three officials said the locations had come a long way since the destructive October storm but said much work was still left to be done.
"There's a long way to go, but that's not for a lack of effort," Blatchford said. "I'm really impressed by the approach the elected officials in the state are taking in the sense of working together."
Himes agreed with Blatchford, noting the progress in Stamford. But he was mindful of the hard work left to do in New Haven, Bridgeport and other coastal cities and towns.
"Some of the recovery has been rapid, some still has a long way to go," Himes said. "Unfortunately, some of these places need to be rebuilt, not just repaired."
The recovery projects in Stamford include rebuilding the hurricane wall, strengthening the power grid and reinforcing the beaches.
"These storms have become the new normal," Blumenthal said. "There's no telling where they will hit in the future, so we need to be as prepared as New Jersey and New York."
Blumenthal and Himes said that although the damage from Sandy was not as severe in Connecticut as it was in New Jersey and New York, they feel coastal towns in the state are just as deserving of federal funding to rebuild.
"We have pockets of destruction that are every bit as serious and severe as New York and New Jersey," Blumenthal said. "We want to make sure the insurance and the federal money that's supposed to go to homeowners and to businesses is actually there for them."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.
