Hurricane causes major flooding in Bristol

 Video of flooding in Forestville Center by Alisha Lee Yard, who shared it on YouTube. 

Photo in Forestville by Kim Keegan, used with permission.

To nobody's surprise, the heavy rains caused by Hurricane Irene have caused significant flooding in low-lying parts of Bristol.Memorial Boulevard "is like a river," said Henry Raymond, and the school playing field there reminds him of a lake.

Forestville Center.
Photo by Joe Mudry, used with permission.

East Main Street is under 4 feet of water. Police have ordered residents to evacuate.Stately Floors, which was getting hammered by water this morning, has partially collapsed. It sits astride the Pequabuck River on the western end of Memorial Boulevard.One fifth of the city's 29,439 customer of Connecticut Light & Power are without electricity this morning, according to the utility.Flooding is heavy in all of the areas of town that traditionally experience problems during heavy storms, including Forestville, the area from Brook Street north toward the Little League complex on Mix Street and along the Copper Mine Brook.But residents report they can still get around.Raymond managed to get out for breakfast at Crystal's, which he said he was glad to find open.

Water flowing through the parking lot at Staples on Route 6.
Photo by Ashley Elizabeth. Used with permission. 

Sue Roesch said there are lots of branches and leaves down on Federal Hill, but the damage doesn't compare to Hurricane Bob two decades ago."This is pretty mild compared to that," Roesch said.Raymond took a tour of some of the troubled areas. Here are some photographs he took this morning:

The Stately Floors building at the western end of Memorial Boulevard.

A shed on Frederick Street.

Memorial Boulevard area.

The walkway at Napco on Riverside Avenue.

Forestville Center.

Car inundated on Frederick Street. 

Car inundated on Frederick Street. 

Forestville Center

Parking lot between Memorial Boulevard School and the parkway.

Tree down in Bristol. Photo by Jazzya Rivera, used with  permission.

Here's a link to some more flooding video in Bristol. 
Channel 3 days a dam in Terryville has been breached.
For more on the flooding, please see www.BristolPress.com
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com