Westport Residents Assess Hurricane Sandy's Destruction

After Sandy sent waves crashing through Westport's coastline, wood chippers and chain saws could be heard throughout town this morning. 

Although the Westport Police Department has closed the roads nearby in to check out the damage all morning. 

Several areas of town have flooded, including Bradley Street nearby Compo Beach, which has several feet of water on it. Compo Bead Road, which is closed to traffic, has been completely covered with the sand that was piled up on Compo Beach in order to prevent the predicted storm surge. The fence on Compo Beach Road alongside the marina was dismantled by the flooding and high winds and scattered throughout nearby yards and roads. 

Westport residents Tom and Judy Deegan said this was the worst flooding they have ever seen in Westport, and Judy's family has lived in town for 50 years. 

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The couple lives nearby Compo Beach on Murvon Connection, where they currently have water about ankle high throughout their entire first floor. 

"The water just came up the road so quickly," Tom Deegan said. "Within a half hour the water was knee deep."

Westport resident Dave Tetenbaum was doing his "post-storm check" for his family and friends that live in the area and evacuated. He usually will take a few photos and assess the damage for his friends and family that left town.

Tetenbaum said he visited Compo Beach Monday afternoon when the sand burms that were build up by bulldozers were breached. 

"It looked like that technique did not work as well as they thought it would," he said." The tides were just too vicious."

Westport resident Ian Warburg agreed.

"It looks like the burms contributed to the problem, but it was a good idea at the time," Warburg said, adding that there were massive amounts of sand thrown onto nearby side streets. 

Tenenbaum, who lives on Minute Man Hill, did not have any flooding at his house. He said his greatest concern following the storm is temperature, noting the vast power outages across town and the tendency for cooler weather following storms like Sandy. 

"But everyone is safe, and that is all that matters," he said.