The second winter rainstorm to hit Harpswell in a week did significant further damage on Saturday, Jan. 13, to already battered homes, businesses, ramps, docks, fish houses and other coastal property and infrastructure.
The town landing at Potts Point appeared to be a total loss, reduced to a twisted wreckage that descended from shore into the depths of Potts Harbor. The dock had been partially damaged by an earlier storm that struck late Tuesday, bringing high winds, rain and surge of up to 3 feet.
Sundrenched, a waterfront restaurant on Bailey Island, also suffered catastrophic damage to a portion of its property in Saturday’s storm.
“The boathouse is gone, the dock is gone, outdoor seating is gone,” said owner Zac Leeman.
The boathouse, rebuilt last year, was floating on the water Saturday afternoon while wood and other debris partially blocked the south end of the Cribstone Bridge.
“It’s awful for the community” that so much property on Orr’s and Bailey islands was destroyed, Leeman said, adding that it was too early to tell if and when Sundrenched would reopen. “The structure of the building is unknown.”
The Cribstone Bridge, which connects Bailey Island to the mainland, also took damage in the form of a few dislodged support stones, but officials said the bridge mostly held up and remained safe to travel on.
“According to the (Maine) Department of Transportation, the bridge is safe and there are no restrictions needed, and they do plan to start repairs on Tuesday if weather and sea conditions permit,” said Harpswell Fire Administrator Michael Drake in a phone interview Sunday.
Saturday’s storm brought nearly 2 inches of additional rain to already soaked ground, but its biggest impacts were from sustained winds exceeding 30 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 50 mph.
The high winds, combined with the astronomical high tide of the month, led to major coastal flooding and destruction, meteorologist Jon Palmer, of the National Weather Service office in Gray, said in a phone interview Sunday.
“(When) you have onshore winds, usually during a big storm like the one we had yesterday, in addition to the astronomical high tide, those two things can be a recipe for disaster for coastal flooding,” Palmer said.
He noted that Portland saw an unprecedented high tide on Saturday of nearly 14.6 feet, breaking the previous record of nearly 14.2 feet that was set on Feb. 7, 1978.
“Well-timed southeasterly high winds in addition to the astronomical high tide really created a pretty serious situation, not just in Harpswell but along our entire coastline,” Palmer said.
He added that winter rainstorms with powerful winds “could potentially be more common in the future as we experience climate change.”
Tuesday night’s storm had sunk at least one boat in Harpswell and grounded two others, washed away docks and piers, and caused major damage to homes and other buildings.
That storm, which also downed trees and power lines, left behind roughly a foot of pooled water on the causeway to Potts Point in South Harpswell, stranding residents with vehicles too small to traverse the flooding.
Drake said there were fewer downed trees and power lines from Saturday’s follow-up storm, as most of the area’s weaker trees already had been cleared out following the earlier storm.
Gov. Janet Mills declared a state of civil emergency on Thursday for Maine’s eight coastal counties and said she would seek federal disaster relief for affected communities. She urged residents and business owners to report any damage they experienced.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources issued instructions Thursday on its website for reporting residential and commercial property damage to the Maine Emergency Management Agency, including links to online surveys.
Drake, the Harpswell fire administrator, on Sunday repeated the call for residents to document and report to MEMA any storm-related property damage as soon as possible. He said locals should keep an eye on the town’s “New Items/Notices” page and Facebook page for additional information and resources.
Drake added that any residents whose electrical or gas systems were flooded during the storm should have a professional inspect those systems before turning them back on.
“Please have a qualified electrician check (your) electrical systems … if they had any salt water in them,” he said, “and have the gas company check (your) gas lines for any leaks.”
Jessica Picard and Connie Sage Connor contributed to this story.
