Community Corner
Stamford Services Blindsided By Storm
With only ten hours to prepare for Saturday's snowstorm, Stamford's Department of Operations scrambled to deal with an underestimated situation.
The Stamford of Department of Operations had little time to prepare for the weekend snowstorm, and have worked around-the-clock to both survey, repair, and cleanup the havoc it caused.
"We did not think it would be as bad as it was," Stamford's Director of Operations Ernie Orgera said. Last weekend's storm, which has caused a surprisingly staggering amount of property damage in the form of downed fallen trees and mass-power outages across the state, brought a little over 4 inches of snow to Stamford.
By northeast U.S. standards, that amount is considered to be "moderate" for a winter storm, but the weekend's off-season storm caught regions and service companies, including CL&P, off-guard. While the amount of snow that fell in Stamford was not severe, icing was the primary cause of most treefalls.
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"Most of us were prepared...75% our plows were ready on Friday," Orgera said.
According to Orgera, North Stamford suffered, and is still suffering from the storm more than any other Stamford region. "Most of the damage is north of the Merritt Parkway. Tree damage, primarily," Orgera said. "There are downed wires all over North Stamford."
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Orgera will meet with his staff Tuesday, and states that post-storm cleanup will be a "process". It will be unclear how much damage the weekend snow caused financially for some time.
On Monday, President Barack Obama granted Connecticut emergency status, which will entitle areas affected by the storm to aid from FEMA.
"There's a formula we use with FEMA...we'll be eligible," Orgera said in regards to post-storm financial support.
Concerning preparation for future winter storms which could far exceed the severity of Saturday's snowfall, Orgera states that the Department of Operations will be in a better position to deal with winter storms when winter actually arrives.
"As soon as the leaf season is over, we prepare all the trucks for snow," Orgera said.
Roads in downtown Stamford and West Stamford were clear within two hours of the weekend storm's end.
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