Flood in Hartford County, Connecticut

Four to ten inches of heavy rain from Tropical Storm Irene resulted in the Pequabuck River overflowing its banks. This led to flooding on roads and homes along the river throughout Bristol. Flooded roads ran approximately three and a half feet deep. A 46 year old man went canoeing in floodwaters. He drowned when his canoe capsized and he was unable to make it to shore. At least 50 people were evacuated from areas around the river, and took shelter at Chippens Hill Middle School. The river flooding undermined at least 7 feet of Route 72 eastbound, washing out this portion of the road. Numerous houses and businesses were affected by the flooding. Forty high water rescues took place in Bristol.

Several mainstem rivers and small streams in Hartford County went into flood. These include the Farmington River at Tariffville, Unionville, and Simsbury, the Bunnell Brook at Burlington, and the Quinnipiac River at Southington. In addition, basements were flooded in Berlin and Avon. Several intersections were flooded, including the intersection of Old Farms and Tillotson Roads in Avon and the intersection of Wolcott and Wescott Roads in Simsbury. In New Britain, sewers backed up on Pierremount Avenue, flooding numerous houses.

Several roads were flooded in Granby. The Mockanum River in Manchester came out of its banks and threatened nearby homes. In Bristol, flooding was reported along a portion of Route 72. Several businesses were also flooded and Memorial Boulevard was closed. |Minor to moderate flooding also affected the larger mainstem rivers. The Connecticut River at Thompsonville crested at 7 feet at 3 pm on the 17th (flood stage is 5 feet), and at Hartford it crested at 23.4 feet at 1215 pm on the 18th (flood stage is 16 feet). On the Farmington River, a crest of 16.6 feet was recorded at Simsbury at 915 am on the 17th (flood stage is 12 feet), while at Tarriffville the river crested at 9.9 feet at 430 pm on the 17th (flood stage is 9 feet).