Durham Power Outage Update

The majority of power on Main Street in Durham has been restored as of early Monday morning. Shops are buzzing with customers getting out of their homes, which still have no power.

Residents from North Meriden and Middletown sat in Perk on Main, enjoying their coffee, the light and great weather. The Miersz family came from Middletown with their two sons and daughter. While they have running water, they say that their house, just a block from the lit-up Main St., is still without power.

Two women from Meriden and Middletown said they grew up in Durham and came back to Perk on Main for breakfast.

Some individuals suggested that the diversity of people in Durham is attributed to residents on the coast affected by outages driving north until they find an area with electricity.

The Coginchaug High School is currently open and ready for visitors who are in need of a hot meal, a shower, outlets to charge their phones/laptops, or even a place to sleep for the night. The shelter is also available for pet owners who wish to bring their house pets. The Durham Animal Response Team is on site with a station for pets.

At this time, the shelter is rather empty. Around 25 people showed up for lunch, but left soon after. The next meal to be served will be dinner at 5 p.m. Monday. EMS and police volunteers are on site.

The Lipka family from Dinatale Dr. in Durham were at the shelter with their four children Monday afternoon to escape their home, which is currently without power and running water. The Lipka’s found out about the shelter via word of mouth. If there is anyone in your area without water and electricity, there is no knowing how long it will take to restore these entities and you are encouraged to spread the word that the Coginchaug shelter is currently open and available 24/7.

Durham Selectwoman Laura Francis and Emergency Management Director Francis Willett have recorded and sent out an alert through the Safer Durham notification system as of 2:30 p.m. today.

There is currently no word on when power will be restored to the remaining areas in Durham without power. With 590,000 other residents on the waiting list for Connecticut Light & Power, Willett says that the best thing to do at this time is stay patient.

Any outages that have not been reported to CL&P should be reported ASAP. Call 1-800-286-9180 and try to be as specific as possible with the location of the power outage or downed power line. Due to an obvious influx in calls, CL&P is taking in information, but not dispersing much information at this time.

For more information on the shelter or any other questions, call the 24-hour Storm Line at 860-704-9111. As always, call 911 for emergencies.

If you are experiencing flooding, call the Storm Line. Be aware that the fire department can only pump water from your home if there is at least two inches of water.