It was bad enough that flash flooding hit Western Connecticut on August 18, but when it was followed by an additional 10 inches of rain that fell in less than two hours, it became a disaster. The inundation overwhelmed drains and streets and flooded residences in several towns in New Haven and Fairfield counties.
So, on August 22, Team Rubicon began deploying its disaster relief volunteers—or Greyshirts—to Shelton, CT, to serve the towns of Seymour, Oxford, Newtown, and Southbury. According to recon teams on site, the need is extensive.
“We have had one site survey team out and there is extensive flood damage in the area surveyed. We have roughly 50 homes that have been affected and may need assistance,” said Samuel Brown, Team Rubicon’s incident commander for the operation.
By Friday, August 23, two Greyshirt strike teams had already deployed to one of the hardest hit areas to conduct complete muckouts of multiple homes. Meanwhile, site survey teams were on the ground in the Naugatuck, Oxford, Newton, and Southbury areas conducting assessments to gain better knowledge of the scope and scale of the damage, and to identify additional residents and homes in need of assistance.
As many as 40 Greyshirts will be deployed on the operation, where they will muck flooded homes and remove flood debris from local properties until at least August 30.
It’s not the first time Team Rubicon volunteers have served the area. In 2018, more than 40 Greyshirts served on a tornado response in the area. Then in 2020, dozens of Greyshirts returned to the area to serve residents impacted by severe thunderstorms with an embedded tornado.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Aug. 26, 2024 to reflect an expansion of the response and extension of the operation.
