Henri Cleanup Also Prepped Manchester For Ida

MANCHESTER, CT — With the town still reeling from Tropical Storm Henri's visit last weekend, crews and officials in Manchester have spent a good chunk of this week cleaning out the drainage infrastructure in anticipation of more rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

One of the areas hardest hit in Manchester was Charter Oak Park, where the Hop Brook crested and spilled thousands of gallons of storm water into the facility.

After it was deemed safe to turn the power back on, the lights were working this week and most of the park was back open, Manchester Public Works Director Tim Bockus said.

Then came the forecast of possibly 5 more inches of rain overnight from Ida.

"There tends to be a little less hype over this one because the rain — though a lot — will not be over a short period of time like Henri," Bockus said. "That's when you get the flash floods."

But DPW crews were still taking some precautionary measures at the park like laying down sands bags in the spots prone to flooding, Bockus said.

Bockus said he has been in town nearly 25 years and in his position since 2018 and has not seen this much rain.

The same precautions were taken in other areas of town

Manchester DPW crews have spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday clearing catch basins and preparing town roads for the storm.

They have also been working since last week to repair and update infrastructure in addition to the park impacted by Storm Henri. Public works crews have been hard at work since Tropical Storm Henri vacuuming catch basins and placing sandbags at some town buildings.

The town issued several advisories regarding Ida:

• Do not drive through standing water.
• Do not attempt to drive through road barriers or areas that are blocked off by public safety. Roads and bridges may be washed out or structurally unsound.
• Do not allow children to play in standing water.
• Dump water that has been collected in items around houses to reduce the potential for mosquitos breeding.
• Never touch electrical equipment while wet or standing in water.
• Consider hiring a qualified electrician to assess damage to electrical systems.
• Have wells checked for contamination from bacteria and chemicals before using.
• Have damaged septic tanks or leaching systems repaired as soon as possible to reduce potential health hazards.
• Treat all down wires as if they are live.
• If a home or property is damaged, take photos or videos to document your damage, and contact the insurance company.