Grim-Faced Malloy Warns Stranded Citizens To Stay Where They Are, Get To Higher Floor

A grim-faced Gov. Dannel P. Malloy appeared for a short-notice briefing at the State Armory about 9:15 p.m. Monday to say that coastline towns and their residents — who had not heeded his dire warnings  to evacuate homes in areas threatened by potential historic flooding along Long Island Sound — now need to make the best of the life-threatening situations in which they find themselves because of Hurricane Sandy.

Some, he said, appear to be stranded in flooded homes beyond reach of rescuers for the moment.

“I’ll worry later about who should have done what,” he said, but for now people need to listen to advice so they can stay alive.

An aide said Malloy was “not happy,” and “worried,” about the situation –and his expression matched that description as he talked. He said he had convened an emergency phone call with town officials from Greenwich to Old Saybrook in the previous hour after hearing alarming reports that midnight would bring an even higher tide and flood surge than earlier predicted. He also had heard of what he characterized less-than-adequate preparations in some towns along western Long Island Sound despite his emphatic warnings in the days before the hurricane.

“As of approximately 8 o’clock, it was evident that our worst fears were being reached as a result of flooding conditions,” Malloy said. “It is evident that some folks [in official municipal government capacities] did not urge their residents to evacuate to ‘Level 4′ ” — which refers to a larger area extending farther inland than the immediate vicinity of the water, an area that Malloy said he had been telling officials and residents “days ago” it was necessary to get people out of.

“And it is also equally clear that even when people when people received those warnings” from their local officials, “some of our citizens did not heed them. And so we are now in a situation where we really need to talk directly, and have talked directly [in Monday night's conference call],  to the cities and to our citizenry — and [to] have them get this message in any way that they can.”

The message, he said, was: “If you are in a house that is inundated, get to a higher floor — as high as you have to, given the circumstances that you are facing. Do not be near a window, because there’s still a lot of wind –and there’s nothing much good to see at the moment.”

“And do not leave a dwelling to get into the water to swim or walk to higher ground,” he said. “Stay where you are at this time. Do not try to move a car. Do not try to drive through water. Do not try to  move out of the water. Stay where you are. Move to a higher level. And that’s the story that we want to get out right now.”

“I’ll worry later about who should have done what,” he said. “What I’m concerned about right now is the loss of human life and what we can do to prevent it. So you[reporters] could be of assistance by getting this message out as quickly as possible.”