Ida Brings 'Historic Flooding' To Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — The remnants of Hurricane Ida slammed through the region Wednesday into Thursday, leaving roads flooded and hundreds without power in Greenwich.

"Various parts of town had anywhere from four to eight inches of rain. Eight inches was measured in the Byram River area. We have crews out there monitoring the dam and the river," First Selectman Fred Camillo told Patch on Thursday afternoon. A large dock in the Byram River broke loose during the storm resulting in significant damage to boats.

"We don't seem to have been hit as hard as some towns, but we still have significant damage. Some roads were closed due to flooding, due to down trees. There's a lot of water in homes, including my own. We're assessing it."

First responders as well as the Parks & Recreation Department and Department of Public Works worked throughout the night and into Thursday trying to clear trees and debris from the road, Camillo said.

"Everyone is going on a few hours of sleep. We want to thank them for their efforts and certainly tell people to still be careful with some wires that are still down and with some of the trees that are uprooted, either blocking areas or leaning," Camillo added.

Greenwich's 911 system was overwhelmed on Wednesday night due to high volume. Calls were still accepted through another number, but some rolled over to Stamford, according to Stamford Fire Chief Trevor Roach.

Between 9 p.m. last night and 9 a.m. this morning, according to the town, Greenwich Police responded to 355 calls for service, including seven medical calls with Greenwich Emergency Medical Services and four car accidents.

The Fire Department responded to about 200 calls during the same time frame.

On King Street in Greenwich, 46 people from Regalcare, a rehabilitation facility, were evacuated Wednesday night due to flooding, Camillo said. They were sent to another facility in town. Two critical care patients were sent to the Emergency Room at Greenwich Hospital.

About 18 roads remain fully closed as of Thursday afternoon.

"We ask the public to remain off the roads for now due to downed trees and power lines. Crews are working to remedy road closures, but it will take some time.," the town said in a statement.

According to the Eversource outage map, 587 Greenwich customers remain without power as of 2 p.m.

Camillo, a lifelong Greenwich resident, called the flooding in some areas of town "historic."

In 1972, he recalled dangerous flooding in Cos Cob with furniture floating down Bible Street. In 2007, Greenwich experienced back-to-back flooding events.

"I don't remember eight inches in nine hours which is what they recorded in Byram. That's historic. It's really one for the books," Camillo said. "We're out there trying to get people up and running and keeping people as safe as possible."