Connecticut continues to find ways to help hurricane victims in the South as Milton arrives

CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — Connecticut is continuing to find ways to help hurricane victims in the South, and with another destructive storm heading towards Florida, those efforts are not slowing down.

2 Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) crews are providing much needed mutual aid. The NPU linemen and a supervisor encountered the destruction when they arrived in the North Carolina/Georgia area last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

“It’s restoration work following a major storm so there will be broken poles, downed wires, transformers that need to be replaced or reinstalled,” Norwich Public Utilities Spokesperson Chris Riley said.

That first crew returned home on Saturday. On Sunday, another crew answered the call for help sent out by the Orlando Utility Commission (OUC), which is anticipating widespread power outages after Milton makes landfall. OUC serves more than 240,000 customers.

“We know it’s gonna be significant, so once we get our hands around what it is they’re working on, we can evaluate and make adjustments,” Riley said. “We need to send people down and bring people back.”

NPU, along with crews from Holyoke and Boylston, Massachusetts are part of the response from Northeast Public Power Association.

“It’s important for our customers to realize that we don’t send anybody unless we’ve got everything well under control here,” Riley said. “We know that the weather for the next seven to 10 days looks pretty calm.”

The crew headed to Orlando is expected to arrive tonight and will be there for as long as they are needed.  If it’s any indication, the crew which went to the North Carolina/Georgia area was there for four days.

Volunteers were also helping at the Groton Bowling Center to collect and ship four tractor trailers full of supplies for victims of Hurricane Helene.

“This just shows you what we’re capable of doing and what the community is capable of doing,” Rich Hurne, who owns the Groton Bowling Center & Entertainment, said.

For him, Milton is a bit more personal, which is another reason he hopes it doesn’t devastate Florida. His dad lives in Tampa, which is expected to have a direct hit.

Hurne is also keeping a close eye on Milton. He hopes the destruction isn’t as bad as expected, but if it is, they will reevaluate what needs to be done and will continue to help.

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