Flash flooding hit Western Connecticut on August 18, followed by an additional 10 inches of rain in less than two hours, turning the situation into a disaster. The heavy rains overwhelmed drains and streets, flooding residences in several towns in New Haven and Fairfield counties.
On August 22, Team Rubicon deployed its disaster relief volunteers, known as Greyshirts, to Shelton, CT, to assist the towns of Seymour, Oxford, Newtown, and Southbury. According to on-site recon teams, the need was extensive. “We have had one site survey team out and there is extensive flood damage in the area surveyed. We have roughly 50 homes that have been affected and may need assistance,” said Samuel Brown, Team Rubicon’s incident commander for the operation.
By August 23, two Greyshirt strike teams had deployed to one of the hardest-hit areas to conduct complete muckouts of multiple homes. Site survey teams were also on the ground in Naugatuck, Oxford, Newtown, and Southbury, conducting assessments to better understand the scope and scale of the damage and identify additional residents and homes in need of assistance.
Up to 40 Greyshirts were expected to be deployed on the operation, working to muck flooded homes and remove flood debris from local properties until at least August 30.
This wasn’t the first time Team Rubicon volunteers served the area. In 2018, over 40 Greyshirts responded to a tornado in the area, and in 2020, dozens returned to assist residents impacted by severe thunderstorms with an embedded tornado.
