Heavy rainfall in southwestern Connecticut led to mudslides, washed-out roads and flash flooding on Sunday, with some towns reporting as much as nine inches of rain.
The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency or flash flood warning into Sunday evening for parts of Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield and Hartford Counties, as overfilled rivers crested their banks and additional thunderstorms were predicted. Emergency crews carried out widespread water rescues, especially in the Southbury area, and several mudslides were reported, according to the Weather Service.
Thunderstorms were also moving into the New York City area on Sunday evening, causing flight delays at airports in the region as officials warned of potentially damaging wind gusts.
In Connecticut, rivers breached roadways in several places in and around Southbury and Newtown, with some images on social media showing cars submerged up to their windshields.
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Stephen Schnell, director of emergency management for the town of Southbury, said that the town was under a state of emergency, with police and fire teams dispatched for rescues and many roads closed. There were no reports of injuries or deaths as of early Sunday evening, he said.
The Connecticut Department of Emergency Management warned of a severe risk of flooding around Southbury into the evening and said that a state search-and-rescue task force had been deployed there. Several roads were also closed in the Danbury area.
