Groton Prepares For Possible Severe Weather From Hurricane Sandy

Groton has begun making preparations in the event Hurricane Sandy brings nasty weather to the shoreline early next week, Director of Emergency Management Joseph Sastre said Thursday.

He said he notified all departments of the coming storm and may meet with them over the weekend, depending on what he hears from the National Weather Service.

“Potentially we’re looking at a heavy rain event,” he said, adding that it could surpass the March 2010 floods when Groton had more than 1,000 homes with flooded basements.

The town Department of Public Works activated its severe weather plan Wednesday, making sure that all underground fuel tanks and generators for heat and electricity are topped off, he said. Public works employees are also fueling portable generators and making sure their equipment such as chain saws and trucks are ready should they be needed.

Sastre said he has also been in touch with the school department to discuss the possible storm.

The Caribbean-born Hurricane Sandy made landfall over Cuba Thursday morning as a Category 2 hurricane, bringing sustained winds of 105 mph.

If the weather is severe and leads to widespread power outages, the town would probably open Fitch High School as a shelter, Sastre said.

“We haven’t made a decision to open it or what time it would be open or anything like that,” he said. “Theoretically if nothing changes from what I’m seeing today, we would probably open it up sometime Monday afternoonish.”

The shelter could accommodate as many as 1,000 people and would accept household pets, Sastre said. He said the town would get in touch with the Red Cross if it needed to, but people should expect to arrive prepared, with blankets, pillows and snacks if the shelter does open.

In Noank, Carson’s Variety Store Manager Andrew Blacker, said the store is monitoring the storm but would try to stay open as it did during Tropical Storm Irene. The store has generators if necessary.

Sastre said notifications about shelters or closings would be publicized if necessary on the town website, town facebook page, and media outlets including Groton Patch.