(Updated: 5 p.m.) Look closely: those are the tops of nets poking over the river that, before the storm, was known as Edgewood Park. The flood damage to city parks and to street trees Monday could have been worse.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts, the worst flooding in the city occured along the banks the West River and on East Shore’s Dean Street
amid a storm that knocked out power for 43,000 people, closed roads, canceled train rides and flooded properties throughout the region.
No New Haveners were forced to evacuate their homes, though some in Woodbridge were, said Smuts. Near the Woodbridge-New Haven line Monday morning, waters of the West River raged high, forcing safety officials to close part of Whalley Avenue for several hours Monday, according to Smuts.
On East Shore’s Dean Street, an intersection was also closed while officials pumped water from the street. A half-dozen homes on that notoriously wet street had their basements flooded, Smuts said.
According to Deputy Director of Parks and Squares (that’s her real title) Christy Hass, the worst flooding in city parks appeared to have occurred in Edgewood.
The West River raged well above its banks and covered the basketball courts, the tennis courts, and the parking lot by West Rock Avenue. You couldn’t drive there, obviously. You could have rowed a boat.
That was nothing compared to the 1982 flood, when people did row boats — on Whalley Avenue in the heart of Westville Village, where traffic moved freely Monday.
Hass wasn’t in her job back in 1982. So “this is the worst I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” she said.
“What are you going to do? The high tides were four feet above normal before the storm hit,” Hass said.
“Nothing we can do” right now in Edgewood Park, Hass said. “Mother Nature is the culprit. When the water recedes, we’ll clean it up.” According to forecasts, there might not be enough sun until Friday to start drying out the park.
Other parkland was reported flooded, including the rugby fields across from Barnard School.
The city got lucky, Hass said. If trees already had their leaves, that would have blocked winds and weighed down tree limbs, adding the stress on trees and causing far greater damage. As it was, her department responded to reports of at least a dozen street trees that fell Sunday night, as well as “lots of limbs.” No injuries were reported, along with “very little property damage,” Hass said.
On Monday Hass’s crews spread through town to pick up trees and fallen limbs and to scope out potentially “hazardous situations” involving precarious limbs. Hass asked people to phone in fallen or at-risk-of-falling trees and limbs, to 946‑8004.
Melissa Bailey contributed to this report.