South Windsor Braces for Hurricane Sandy

South Windsor braced itself of Sandy’s worst Monday afternoon, with the town effectively shutting down all non-emergency departments and residents scurrying for essential supplies at grocery stores and gas stations.

But as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told state residents, particularly those on the shoreline, to prepare for the worst, there was little, if any, panic in South Windsor.

The South Windsor emergency operations center - housing, among other things, police, fire, schools, public works and CL&P personnel - at Town Hall was up and running by 9 a.m.

Town Manager Matthew Galligan at 11 a.m. declared a state of civil preparedness emergency under state law.

The town’s offices were shut down at 11:30 a.m., while it was announced Sunday that the public schools were closed today and Tuesday.

Galligan also announced this morning that the shelter at the South Windsor High School would be opened at 2 p.m. Anyone who needs a ride to the shelter is encouraged to call 860-648-6361.

The police department and the Town Hall buildings were boarded up, but otherwise things remained relatively low key.

The only incident that was reported as of 1:15 p.m. was a person had to be transported to the hospital after a piece of debris hit a vehicle’s tire on the highway, resulting in an accident.

"The wind has picked up and a few things have been knocked down," Deputy Chief of Police Richard Riggs said.

Officials are urging people to stay put unless absolutely necessary.

At 2 p.m., CL&P was reporting that 238 - or 2 percent - of its customers in South Windsor were without power.

Several businesses in the area had shut down - most notably the Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk - in advance of the storm. (For a more complete list of openings and closings, visit the South Windsor Hurricane Sandy Information Center here.)

But other businesses remained open.

At the Stop & Shop on Ellington Road, residents continued to pick up essential - and some not-so-essential - items.

Georgine Leavitt said that she was picking up cold cuts and salad, “Anything that I don’t have to cook.”

Asked, as the wind and rain started to pick up, if she was worried about the storm, she replied, simply, “no.”

South Windsor resident Kyle Mount appeared even less concerned: he was at the store to pick up mixers for a storm party he was attending in Manchester.