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Connecticut Towns Still Grappling With Tornado Recovery

Natalie Cioffari
/
WSHU
A downed tree blocks a road in Danbury following last month's severe storm.

Residents of Hamden, Connecticut, are among those still cleaning up from last month’s tornado and severe thunderstorms.

Officials say the town is recovering, but they've had to open a new place for people to bring storm debris.

Mayor Curt Balzano Leng says the town established a second debris drop-off center at Hamden's Public Works Department. The drop-off location at Quinnipiac University had to be closed because it filled up.

Crews have been working 12-hour days cleaning up the hardest-hit neighborhoods and hauling away debris left in the path of a twister that struck on May 15.

The National Weather Service says the EF1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 110 mph moved along a 9 1/2-mile path between Beacon Falls and Hamden.

Nearby Sleeping Giant State Park and Wharton Brook in Wallingford also sustained damage from the storm and remain closed. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has not announced a timetable to reopen the affected parks.