Southbury operating under state of emergency due to flooding

SOUTHBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — The Town of Southbury is operating under a state of emergency as public safety officials assess widespread damage caused by flash flooding.

Town officials said the Pomperaug River is 3.5 feet above flood stage. Residents are strongly urged to stay home and avoid the roads.

“It sounded like the world was coming to an end,” Cathy Dibner, a Southbury resident said. “All you heard was water and buildings crashing.”

What could be something out of a movie was heartbreaking reality for Dibner and her family, after the storm demolished their land around 1 a.m. on Monday morning.

“[I] came out with flashlights, I looked, shined the light, fell to the ground and just started screaming because everything was gone,” Dibner said.

The family’s 11-acre property off Route 67 in Southbury is destroyed, including a barn with more than a hundred chickens, a pavilion and an inground pool.

“This morning when the sun came up and I saw the damage, my heart just dropped,” Dibner said. “This is devastating.”

Thankfully, her family is physically okay, but for her husband, Eric, he’s shocked to see his childhood property and more than 50 years of memories now gone.

“It hasn’t even hit me yet because, you know, living here my whole life and watching what we did [to build the property], it’s hard,” Eric said.

The following roads are closed in Southbury as of 9:53 p.m.:

• Old Waterbury at Church Road
• Old Field Road at Bullet Hill Brook
• New Road
• West Flat at Purchase Brook Road
• Stillson Road
• S. Georges Hill at Luna Trail
• Lakeside Road at Lee Farm Road
• Jeremy Swamp Road at Route 67 through Hulls Hill
• State Route 172 between Horse Fence Hill and Southbury Training School
• Brennan Road at South Flat
• Kettletown Road
• Main Street South and Main Street North

Southbury resident Rachel Lavertue was driving home from work Sunday when she noticed a car stuck in floodwater at the intersection to the Southbury Shopping Plaza, Main Street North and Route 6.

She captured some Good Samaritans helping a man- who uses a prosthetic leg- and his dog from the stranded vehicle.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.