FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Water from Long Island Sound spilled into towns along the Connecticut shoreline Monday, the first taste of flooding from a storm that threatens to swamp low-lying areas at high tides.
With some of the worst effects of Hurricane Sandy still to come, officials went door to door to urge stragglers to leave waterfront areas, and utilities rushed to bolster equipment that seemed vulnerable despite being built to withstand a 100-year flood.
About 360,000 people in 30 towns were urged to leave their homes under mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders, according to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, and elected leaders urged residents to take the warnings seriously.
‘‘The water’s got no place to go. It’s been pushed all the way up the coast into this funnel,’’ said Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, who was knocking on doors in Connecticut’s largest city as water began spilling onto lawns.
The storm downed tree limbs and turned coastal roadways into rivers across southern Connecticut on Monday, but officials said the biggest test for the state could come with high tide overnight. The storm surge could exceed 9 feet in western Long Island Sound, driven partly by a full moon and high tides, and officials fear winds from the hurricane will keep the water from draining at low tide.
An assistant fire chief in Fairfield, Christopher Tracy, said thousands of people are still in mandatory evacuation zones, and he worries some will need to be rescued.
‘‘They’re not going to know they’re in harm’s way until they go outside and try to leave,’’ he said. ‘‘I think there will be people in harm’s way despite all of our efforts.’’
Christi McEldowney was among those who evacuated to a Fairfield shelter. She and other families brought tents for their children to play in.
‘‘There’s something about this storm. I feel it deep inside. I have to leave with my kids,’’ McEldowney said. ‘‘Deep down I know it’s coming.’’
As Hurricane Sandy churns across the East Coast, it is expected to combine with two other weather systems to create an epic superstorm.
Malloy said 850 National Guardsmen were deployed around the state and would remain in Connecticut during the storm and its immediate aftermath. With winds above 50 mph forecast for much of the state, the governor also banned trucks and nonemergency vehicles from most highways beginning at 1 p.m. Monday.
Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said city officials are concerned the storm surge could push water over a hurricane barrier built by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the downtown area after hurricanes in 1938, 1955 and 1956. If the surge reaches 12 feet, it could push water over the barrier and flood downtown Stamford.
‘‘That is something that we can’t even imagine,’’ Pavia said. ‘‘I always believed it was impregnable.’’
United Illuminating vice president Tony Marone said the company would likely have to shut down one or two stations Monday night, a move that would affect about 40,000 customers.
Bill Quinlan, a senior vice president at Connecticut Light Power, said his company began building a dike Monday around its Stamford substation in an attempt to prevent flooding there. He said the company also is concerned about its Branford substation but is not anticipating major problems at either facility.
Water spilled over a beach road in Fairfield, where some decided to ride out the storm in homes near the water despite official warnings.
‘‘I didn’t like my options,’’ Bob Gigliotti said when asked why he was not evacuating.
In New London, low-lying parts of the city along Long Island Sound and the Thames River, including the ferry terminal and Ocean Beach State Park, were flooded.
Stormy conditions did not deter about a dozen people from gathering at Captain’s Beach off Pequot Avenue to watch the swelling waters. Jasmine Arroyo, who was taking in the sights with her children and some friends, said her home is in a mandatory evacuation area but she believes it was on high-enough ground to avoid major damage.
‘‘We’re kind of playing it by ear. We have everything packed,’’ she said.
Associated Press writers Dave Collins, Pat Eaton-Robb and Michael Melia in Hartford and Susan Haigh in New London contributed to this report.
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