Communication Will Be Improved For Next Big Storm

Ledyard department heads, emergency services and utility providers have spent the past two days making preparations for a Category 3 hurricane that hopefully will never come.

The statewide emergency preparedness drill was designed to foster communication among state, local officials, utility companies and the private sector, according to a release from the governor's office. Ledyard was one of more than 165 municipalities and tribal nations in the state that participated in the exercise.

"The drill really made us examine where we were and gave us things to think about and questions to ask – some we had answers for, some we did not," said Mayor John Rodolico who hunkered down in the town's Emergency Operations Center for a good part of two days this week.

Among other things, the simulated storm caused power outages for 85 percent of the town’s residents, caused 10 percent to need shelter and blew a hole in the roof of the high school, so it couldn’t be used as a shelter.

Rodolico and Public Safety Commission Chairman Sean McGuckin both said that communicating information to the public is a major priority. The exercise led them establish a public information officer (Mayoral Assistant Mark Bancroft) who will coordinate messages broadcast on the town's websites and social media outlets. Rodolico said the Everbridge emergency and community alerts will be a big help.

The exercise was created in response to tropical storm Irene and the October snowstorm. Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said, "while we still may have work to do, this exercise is a significant step forward toward our goal of making Connecticut’s infrastructure and preparation second to none.”

According to a press release, “participants in the exercise included the relevant state agencies; the state’s municipalities and tribal nations; utility companies (CL&P, United Illuminating, AT&T, Comcast, Cablevision, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, Charter, Cox and MetroCast); the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Red Cross; United Way 211; and representatives of the private sector.