Oxford, Conn. (AP) – Rains in parts of Connecticut and New York's Long Island turned streets into raging rivers, trapped people in cars and restaurants, covered vehicles in mud and left two women dead, authorities said.
Dramatic rescues unfolded after more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain fell late Sunday and early Monday in parts of western Connecticut, falling so fast that drivers were unaware of it. More than 100 people were evacuated by search and rescue teams Sunday evening, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said.
Authorities said the bodies of two women were recovered Monday from separate cars in Oxford, a city of 13,000 about 35 miles southwest of Hartford. Both are Oxford residents.
Firefighters first tried to get the woman to safety as the flooded Little River dragged her away, Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pelletier said at a news conference with other Connecticut officials. A second woman got out of her car and tried to cling to a sign, but « the racing water was too high » and dragged her away, he said.
« This is a sad and devastating day for Oxford, » said George Temple, the town's first selectman.
US Senate. Richard Blumenthal added, « Who would have thought that a small river would turn into a torrent of destruction, and it did. »
In nearby Southbury, Lucas Barber used wilderness first-responder techniques he learned as a backpacker and rock climber as he waded through chest-high water to save Patrick Jennings, who has a prosthetic leg, and Jennings' dog from a car outside Southbury Plaza Mall.
Barber, 30, said he drove to higher ground and grabbed a rope he kept in his car for emergencies. Jennings' car, he said, « looked like it was turning in the tide and seemed to be sinking. »
Barber said he initially tried to throw his rope at Jennings but changed his approach when told he had a prosthetic leg. He waded to the flooded car and swam, he said.
Jennings' golden retriever, Stanley, was scared behind and worried that Jennings was leaving him. « 'Your dog is coming with us, but I have to get you out right now,' » Barber told Jennings.
Jennings removed his prosthetic leg, and Barber wrapped his rope around the man's waist and chest. The barber tried to tie the rope around the dog's collar, but it gave up. Once he got Jennings to safety so the others could take care of him, he headed back to Stanley. Halfway back, the dog became excited to see Jennings and swam the rest of the way to its owner, Barber said.
Barber said he went back a third time to pick up Jennings' prosthetic leg, which was next to his car.
In Oxford, flooding engulfed the Brookside Inn, stranding 18 people. Firefighters had to stretch a ladder across floodwaters as cars and other large debris were swept into the building by the torrent, said firefighter Jeremy Rodorico of neighboring Beacon Falls.
Firefighters rescued a woman and a small dog from the apartment next door, Rodorico said.
Lamont said he would seek federal disaster funding for the recovery. « This is the worst storm we can remember, » he said.
The storm system hit Connecticut and then moved to Long Island Hurricane ErnestoMonday was over the open Atlantic Ocean, but still expected to produce powerful swells, dangerous surf and rip currents along the US East Coast.
In an AP interview, National Weather Service meteorologist James Tomasini, who covers New York and Connecticut, says parts of the region received up to 10 inches of rain from a separate weather system unrelated to Ernesto.
William Siret, a professor of meteorological and atmospheric sciences at Penn State University, referred to the Connecticut-New York system as a « practice thunderstorm. »
« Each thunderstorm is like a car on a train track, so they keep going in the same place, » he said. He cited « perfect conditions » for storms due to moisture in the air and a slow weather system.
The unusual part, Cyrett said, was the amount of rain that fell over several hours, not a thunderstorm.
Ed Romaine, the administrator of Long Island's Suffolk County, said hundreds of homes were affected by the flooding, and in some areas cars were swept off their roofs. He joined other officials at a news conference near the pond in Stony Brook, where a dam broke, destroying part of a major road and flooding homes.
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico called the flooding an « environmental and economic disaster. »
« Millions of gallons of water, turtles, fish, all flooded homes downstream with personal belongings, » Banico said, adding that repairs to Harbor Road alone will cost $10 million.
More than 450 flights were canceled at Newark Liberty, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports because of the storm, officials said.
The storms dumped about 2 to 4 inches of rain across much of northern New Jersey, causing minor to moderate flooding on roads including the Garden State Parkway and other major highways, stranding some motorists. There were no fatalities, injuries or property damage in New Jersey.
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This story has been corrected to show that the Oxford fire chief's last name is spelled Pelletier. Earlier editions misspelled it as Pellitier.
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Sisak reported from Philadelphia and Matthews from New York. Associated Press reporters Suman Naishatham in Washington, Julie Walker in New York and Bruce Shipkowski in New Jersey contributed.
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