Update at 11:20 p.m.
The East Haven Mayor's Office has announced that all town offices will be once again closed for business tomorrow due to Hurricane Sandy.
Update at 9:45 p.m.
Frank Gentiliesco, the assistant director of administration & management for th etown, told East Haven Patch that Fire Chief Jackson and Assistant Fire Chief Licata are out assessing the situation now regarding the possiblity of evacuating others from the shoreline areas.
He noted, however, that it appears the Gov's Office is most concerned about Greenwich and Stamford and Bridgeport, west of New Haven. However, if there are any further required evacuations here in East Haven, they will be alerting residents ASAP.
Gentiliesco added that if anyone is worried or uncomfortable with their situation, to remember they are welcome to take refuge at the town's emergency shelter at the high school. It's open to all, as well as pets in carriers.
Update at 9:15 p.m.
Gov. Malloy has ordered shoreline towns, including East Haven, to go to Category 4-level evacuation, the highest there is.
"To the extent they have the ability to order mandatory evacuations I’ve told them must give this their highest priority," Malloy stated in a press release a short time ago. "I was concerned all along about the potential destructive impact of this last high tide, and unfortunately the best information we have confirms my worst fears.”
Malloy has convened an emergency press conference for 9:15 this evening to discuss the alert status change.
“The situation is dire," the governor stated.
Update at 8:10 p.m.
East Haven's power outage numbers continue their slow climb upwards, with 4,391 customers — or almost 34 percent of the town without power.
Also Assistant East Haven Fire Chief Chuck Licata told East Haven Patch a few minutes ago that the next few hours will be critical as far as how much damage the storm surge will have on the town's shoreline.
The high tide is expected to come in tonight about midnight, and the area could experience a storm surge several feet above that of Tropical Storm Irene.
Update at 7:30 p.m.
The number without out power in East Haven continues to creep up slightly, with 3,436 customers or more than 26 percent of the town reporting they do not have electricty at his hour.
And United Illuminating is reporting that a total of 53,806 of its 320,150 customers, or almost 17 percent, have no electricity. And officials say that number could continue to climb over the next few hours.
Update at 5:50 p.m.
East Haven Fire responding to a report of a structure fire on Borrmann Road between Willow and Sunset. The online scanner is down so unable to confirm if it's a significant fire or not.
UPDATE: This has been confirmed to be a transformer fire and not a structure fire.
Update at 5:40 p.m.
More than a quarter of town is now without power, according to UI's outage map. Some 3,313 customers currently have no electricity in East Haven.
Update at 5:10 p.m.
Getting reports that the apartment building at 441 Coe Avenue — directly across from Calabro Cheese — is losing it's roof. EHFD are reportedly on the scene now evacuating residents.
Reportedly, two buses are coming for the building's residents to take them to the emergency shelter at the high school.
Update at 3:45 p.m.
East Haven Mayor Maturo has just announced a 7 p.m. curfew for the areas of town that are under the mandatory evacuation order.
The Mayor's Office reports the order will "be in effect until further notice."
East Haven Patch will continue to provide updates both during and after Hurricane Sandy.
