Memories of Floods of '55 will be revisited at ceremony in Ansonia

This book of flood photos was published by The Evening Sentinel newspaper in December, 1955.

ANSONIA - The city of Ansonia will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the floods of 1955 with a ceremony at 4 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 19) at Vartelas Park, located near the intersection of Maple Street and Olson Drive, adjacent to the Maple Street bridge.

Back to back hurricanes dumped catastrophic amounts of rainfall on the Lower Naugatuck Valley that August, and the Naugatuck River overflowed its banks on Aug. 19, 1955, leaving devastation in its wake.
Another hurricane caused more flooding on Oct. 16, 1955, just as communities were rebuilding from the torrential August rains.

In a release, Mayor David S. Cassetti said the city will "recognize the roles the first responders played in the response to the greatest natural disaster our Valley has seen."

At noon Aug. 20,1955 President Eisenhower declared Connecticut a major disaster area.