2 Women Dead in Connecticut After Being Swept Away by Floodwaters During Tri-State Area Storms
Nearly a foot of rain fell in some parts of the Tri-State area on Aug. 18
Danbury Fire Department/Facebook
Floodwaters in Danbury, Conn., where at least one person has died following tropical downpours on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024Two women have been found dead after flash flooding consumed various portions of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
Nearly a foot of rain fell in some parts of the Tri-State area on Sunday, Aug. 18, as severe thunderstorms and tropical downpours moved through the area, according to NBC News.
The women were swept away by floodwaters in Oxford, Conn., and were later found dead, NBC affiliate WVIT and CBS affiliate WFSB reported.
The women have been identified as 65-year-old Ethelyn Joiner and 71-year-old Audrey Rostkowski, according to reports.
Danbury Fire Department/Facebook
A car stalled in floodwaters in Dabury, Conn., after tropical downpours on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024“Both Oxford residents were found deceased after being swept away from their vehicles,” Connecticut State Police said in an update on Monday, Aug. 19, per the New York Daily News.
NBC News reported that at least one other person died in the storms.
A state of emergency was declared in Suffolk County, N.Y., amid the flash flooding, according to ABC affiliate WABC-TV. The National Weather Service said multiple rescues occurred the night of Aug. 18 throughout the rain-soaked county.
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In Danbury, Conn., about 20 rescues were made “when vehicles drove into flood waters and became stranded,” according to local fire officials.
Elsewhere in Danbury, about 100 units at the Glen Apartments complex were evacuated due to flooding, and eight units at a condominium complex were damaged after heavy rain triggered a large mudslide on Shelter Rock Road.
Danbury Fire Department/Facebook
Floodwaters in Danbury, Conn,. after tropical downpours on Sunday. Aug. 18, 2024About five miles away in Beacon Falls, 18 people and a dog were rescued from the Brookside Inn Restaurant and a nearby home, according to WVIT. Only one person was assessed for injuries.
Jeremy Rodrigo, a volunteer firefighter in Beacon Falls, said water enveloped the whole restaurant, leaving the people trapped, per WABC-TV.
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"We were worried about the structural integrity of the restaurant,” Rodrigo explained, “because there are literally cars floating by and large objects that were hitting the building."
In Newark, N.J., heavy rain is blamed for causing the roof of a residential building to collapse, according to News 12 New Jersey. Public safety director Fritz Fragé said 64 residents from 19 units were moved into hotel rooms following the incident.
Danbury Fire Department/Facebook
Flooding in Connecticut after downpours impacted the area on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024Related: 1 Dead in South Dakota amid 'Catastrophic' Midwest Flooding
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority also issued a travel alert warning of weather-related closures on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike, where six cars — including a state trooper’s vehicle — were consumed by floodwaters, per WABC-TV.
Rail traffic in New York and New Jersey was impacted as well. On Aug. 18, Amtrak temporarily suspended service between New York and Philadelphia as a result of flooding, according to NBC News.
On Monday, Aug. 18, the Metro-North Railroad suspended the Waterbury Branch service in both directions due to a mudslide near Seymour.
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