Federal, state and local officials will visit the Connecticut shoreline on Friday to view storm damage caused during Super Storm Sandy in October and discuss the disaster rebuilding process in the state.
The shoreline area from Fairfield County to East Haven and beyond suffered damage during the powerful storm, which damaged homes, caused flooding and took down trees. Six months later, many property owners are still rebuilding.
"We have finally settled with insurance very recently, and it's pretty much that way with everything. The damage here, the building department is overloaded, everything takes a long time," Frank Petrucci, of Milford, said.
"The two neighbors behind me, they haven't lived in their house since Sandy hit, and they still have a lot of work to do. It's been pretty significant," Tricia Andriolo-Bull, of Fairfield, said.
The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force will walk around the area and explore ways to improve the federal disaster respond process and systems, as well as ways to be more responsive to local needs and concerns.
President Barack Obama established the task force in an executive order on Dec. 7 to “provide the coordination that is necessary to support” local rebuilding objectives.
Laurel Blatchford, the executive director of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force; U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal; U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro; U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and local officials will view storm damage in New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford.
In New Haven, Blatchford will participate in a roundtable discussion at the Sound School with statewide local elected officials to discuss the disaster rebuilding and federal reimbursement process.
The tour begins in New Haven at 11:15 a.m. followed by a roundtable discussion at Sound School.
From there, the tour continues in Marina Village in Bridgeport, then onto Cummings Park Beach/Municipal Marina on Shippan Avenue in Stamford.
Photo Credit: AP
