Town Manager Garry Brumback does not pretend to be a geography expert, but he speculates that Southington escaped the brunt of Hurricane Sandy because it is located "in a valley between two ridges which kept the intensity of the winds down."
He also cited the town's degree of preparedness at every level, including administrators, first responders, and utilities crews. And beyond that, he attributes the relative lack of damage to "pure good luck."
The blocks between Beechwood, Woodlawn, Savage, and Glenn Streets were battered more than the rest of Southington by Hurricane Sandy, as a total of 85 households lost power in the area. Another 50 households suffered outages in a multi-family complex downtown.
However, Brumback says that less than 50 homes have yet to have their electricity restored, and officials are hopeful that the remaining houses will regain it tomorrow.
Because the dangerous parts of the storm mostly passed by the area, Southington did not extend its 24 hour closure of public facilities. Town offices and other public buildings reopened at noon.
The town did not open its shelter during the hurricane. "We never had demand," explains Brumback.
Southington shifted to clean-up mode Wednesday, according to Brumback. Annual leaf pick-up will begin today, and residents are requested to "segregate brush and debris from the leaves in their yards."
School also resumes again today.
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