The storm that hit Maine on Sunday flooded low-lying areas along the coast, but it did not deal the same blow as the twin storms in January that devastated many waterfront communities.
The causes of this storm were similar to the ones in January, with strong, sustained winds from the southwest causing a storm surge that coincided with an astronomical high tide.
But in Portland, the flooding peaked at 13.3 feet on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. That was less than the measured peaks of 14.6 feet on Jan. 13 and 14 feet on Jan. 10.
Similarly, Sunday’s flooding in Bar Harbor peaked at 15.3 feet, compared to 15.8 feet on Jan. 13, according to the weather service.
Still, that was enough to inundate sections of Maine’s coast, forcing roads to be closed, damaging some infrastructure, and leaving behind piles of debris, according to news reports and photos shared on social media.
In southern Maine towns such as Scarborough and Kennebunk, the sea water reached the fronts of some buildings and took out some sections of road. It also battered waterfronts further down the coast, including Portland, Rockland and Bar Harbor.
The storm also caused thousands of power outages — and more stress for residents who are still trying to recover from January’s storms, which caused an estimated $70.3 million damage just to public infrastructure in Maine.
Some parts of the coast were also affected by the strong wind and rain storm that hit the state in December, doing an estimated $20 million in damage to public infrastructure.
“It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Judy Hodgdon told CBS 13 on Sunday, while surveying the flooding along Higgins Beach in Scarborough. “We’re still not repaired from what happened in January and December, so it’s pretty rough.”
