Coventry Declares Emergency After Blizzard of ’26

COVENTRY, RI — Coventry Town Council Vice President John Paul Verducci declared a local Emergency Tuesday as residents and town personnel dig out driveways and roads following the blizzard of 2026, which dropped 32 – 33.5 inches of snow on the town.

A parking ban remains in effect in the town until 4 p.m. today (Wednesday). Also, Coventry Police report, “Columbia Ave and Holloway Ave closed due to storm related damage. Please seek alternative routes.’

‘Town Council President John–Paul Verducci has declared a local state of emergency to assist the Town of Coventry with receiving additional resources as we move forward. RIEMA has held several meetings with Statewide Municipal Leaders and have been a phenomenal resource for the Coventry EMA. Beyond, RIEMA we are in direct contact with RI Energy prioritizing needs and working to have power restored quickly to our residents,” Coventry’s Emergency Management Agency announced. 

Wednesday afternoon, RI Energy reported there were 1,400 outages remaining to repair in the state, and about eight outages reported remaining in Western Coventry, affecting 1-7 homes.

‘The Coventry EMA will continue to work with RI Energy until power is restored to all residents,” the town agency stated.  

DPW Snow Removal Report

‘The Coventry Department of Public Works continues to work full speed ahead on snow plowing and removal efforts throughout the town. We have requested front–end loaders, heavy dump trucks and heavy snow plows from RIEMA to assist our local operators. These resources have been requested by most cities and towns in the state so they may be limited,” according to the EMA. 

EMA Blizzard Report

On day one of the blizzard, “We had to prioritize emergency response with the added difficulties of several EMS/Fire Department Rescue units stuck in the snow, white out conditions for our plow operators and impassable roads for our police patrol units. The snowfall and strong winds added up to extremely dangerous conditions for our first responders and DPW crews.”

On day two of the blizzard, “We were able to focus on power restoration and snow removal on our local roadways. RI Energy has been extremely responsive and we were able to prioritize a number of Coventry Housing Units that lost power overnight. The power for those elderly and special needs residents has been restored. Additionally, power is being restored in several areas with a number of RI Energy crews working in town.”