NEW LONDON — Community members in New London battle against rising water levels and adapt to a flooded downtown after heavy rain.
Posted on the back wall of John Faucher's New London bait shop, Johnny’s Little Shop of Bait, are photos of floods from the past.
“The last time we had a flood like this was 1979,” Faucher says.
Now, it seems, he’ll need to add another picture.
“From what I've actually physically seen, this is the worst,” he says.
His business, which sits right on the river, is surrounded by standing water.
Since Saturday, Faucher has been laying a perimeter of sand bags around his business.
“The sandbags at the very least are keeping debris from coming in here, so our clean up is going to be a little bit easier," he says.
Already, however, the water is seeping inside.
“We got most of our inventory up off the ground,” he says.
Meanwhile up river, friends Josh Hoier and Brad Fermanich have found a new way to get around downtown.
“It was impossible to get anywhere by vehicle, so we were like, huh suit up and lets go on a walk,” Fermanich says.
The two are wearing waders as they walk near the river.
“This is pandemonium,” Hoier says. “I haven’t seen it this bad in my lifetime and a lot of the oldtimers around here haven’t seen it this bad in their lifetime either.”
