State and city officials were at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven on Tuesday to tour the damage sustained during last week's storm.
One hundred mph winds were recorded during an extremely localized storm at the historic park.
Mayor Justin Elicker said it looked like a bomb went off when it subsided.
The building was pushed off its foundation, and the windows were blown out. More than 90 trees fell around the property, and many more need significant pruning. The century-old carousel itself did not sustain significant damage, but the porcelain horses have been removed during construction.
“The damage is just shocking,” Elicker said. “If you were here the morning of, it was even more shocking. There was just debris everywhere. There was glass strewn across this whole area, parts of the building, windows, chairs.”
Restoration cost estimates are in the millions. The state has to put in about $7 million to qualify for federal help.
“If it's a big number, we'll get FEMA reimbursement. Otherwise, we got to see what else,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “But what the hell is going on? This thing has survived for 110 years. 110 years of hurricanes, generally worried about flooding... and this is a microburst, a tornado. Call it what you will. This thing spun on its axis a little bit.”
WSHU asked Lamont if he thought climate change was to blame for the incident.
“It’s the type of weather event that they haven't seen in the previous 100 years or so. They were always prepared for flooding, not this type of a burst. Tornadoes, you know, go up and take you up. This was the opposite. Came down, you know, spun this building on its axis; we'd never seen this before in 100-plus years,” Lamont said. “Something's going on.”
The park is closed for the foreseeable future. It’s a popular site for weddings and parties, many of which have been moved to other venues in the wake of the storm.
The lighthouse located on the park’s grounds has been there since 1847. The carousel was built in 1916. Both are on the National Registry of Historic Places.
“While we're really unlucky about what happened, we're really lucky that no one was hurt,” Elicker said. “If this had happened in the day, with kids out here in summer camps and stuff, it would have been a very, very different story.”
