Thousands Along Shoreline May be Trapped by Hurricane Sandy's Flood Waters

Thousands of people may be trapped in their homes along Connecticut’s shoreline tonight from Greenwich to Old Saybrook, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has issued a "Katrina-like warning" urging them to stay in their homes and move to higher levels.

In an urgent and hastily called press briefing tonight at the State Armory the governor said thousands of shoreline residents, or their leaders, did not heed numerous and dire warnings state officials have issued over the past several days for residents in shoreline communities to leave their homes before Hurricane Sandy’s winds forced the waters of Long Island Sound to historic flood levels.

Now, Malloy said, those residents have no choice but to stay put and try to survive the night in their dwellings as the flood waters rise. Leaving now is not an option and poses a greater risk to them, Malloy said.

“Get to a higher floor, as high as you have to. Don’t be near a window because there’s a lot of wind and there’s nothing good to see at this point. Do not try to walk through (the water). Don’t try to swim through it do not try to drive through it.

“Our worst fears are being reached in terms of flooding conditions,” he said.

Malloy said he would assess later why so many people are stranded in their homes along the shoreline, despite numerous warnings by officials, including those in his office, that the storm was catastrophic and residents should leave. But he left open the idea that local leaders may not have heeded the warnings and may not have carried it to their citizenry.