The City of West Haven is preparing for an active hurricane and tropical storm season.
The city’s Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana held a meeting on Wednesday with city department heads to discuss their hurricane preparedness plan.
“We’re trying to make the shoreline and some of our areas that frequently flood, trying to make them more resilient, I think we’ve done a pretty good job on the shoreline,” Fontana said.
Despite hurricane season typically beginning from June through November, in West Haven, the hurricanes more often begin from August through September.
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Part of the city’s most recent efforts to strengthen the shoreline include the raising of Beach Street and improving the infrastructure, according to Fontana.
During the meeting, Fontana outlined the importance of having a plan in place due to the upcoming storm predictions.
“We are a shoreline community, 3.2 miles of beach, largest in the state, it’s going to flood and we have to be able to get people to safety.”
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is estimating 17-25 named storms, 8-13 hurricanes and 4-7 major hurricanes as part of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook.
This year will be the first year the City of West Haven has the option for mandatory evacuations.
“We now have an evacuation plan, there’s never been an evacuation plan in the City of West Haven.”
Local officials will also have the ability to use a new tool that will help them monitor storm surges and prepare the areas they will need to evacuate.
In addition, West Haven is also improving existing infrastructure in some flood-prone areas, including the installation of gates at the underpass on Campbell Avenue.
“We’re going to lock them, double lock them in the open position as a safety precaution and the fire department will be notified by the police department, 'hey we’ve got flooding,' the fire department will respond there and close the gates, we’ll have signs attached to the gates and then one big sign that says detour,” said Fontana.
Fontana added the gates on Campbell Avenue should be completed within the next two to three weeks and they are also working to begin the same project on Washington Avenue.
“People don’t turn around, people go through the water, people can become stuck,” said Fontana.
Other hurricane preparedness methods include selecting a second emergency shelter.
“What if there’s an issue at that facility, we need to have a backup facility so that’s what we’re working on now at the high school,” said Fontana.
West Haven Mayor Dorinda Borer added she is working to start a marketing campaign with Everbridge, to encourage more residents to sign up for emergency alerts and communication.
