York Town News
Police: Go slow; be careful as officials assess extent of flood damage in town
By Larry Favinger
York Beach firefighters Jim Sweeney, Corey Hathorne and Gary Woods take a short break last Sunday from a weekend of flood-related rescues in the York Beach area.
Photo by Steve Rasche
Police Chief Douglas Bracy said Monday some of the town's roads would be closed for weeks, months and even up to a year as damage from the record-setting rain is discovered, assessed and repaired.
"A lot of these roads are going to be closed for a significant amount of time," he said.
Bracy said the Cape Neddick Bridge has lost its center supports and could be washed out completely by the time the rain subsides. Officials have estimated it could be a year or more before it is permanently replaced.
The extent of the damage is unknown, as flooding has obscured roadways that may have significant structural damage to their surfaces or roadbeds.
"This is bigger than anything I can remember," said Bracy, who was born and raised in York.
He said even a 1997 storm that dropped 18 inches of water on the town in three days caused far less damage. Some described that as a 100-year flood, he recalled, which would make this past week's event akin to 500-year flood.
There was a meeting Monday of all town officials to deal with the damage.
One of the more significant topics officials are assessing, Bracy said, is to "figure out how we're going to pay for the work that needs to be done."
With the amount of damage already obvious, he said, outside contractors will need to be used to aid the York Public Works Department.
He praised the work of the York Water District at the Chase's Pond dam and others who had to deal with the unusual amount of water that has fallen on the town, an estimated 15 or more inches as of Monday morning.
"We're talking a tremendous amount of water that goes through that," he said of the dam.
Another topic of discussion has been the issue of how and when to get the town's students back to school.
Bracy said the road closings will "obviously impact the bus routes to a large degree" and there is still the unknown damage hidden by the water itself on York's roads.
The Maine Emergency Management Agency has been contacted for help, he said, as will the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Bracy said it is his understanding that damage of $1.4 million is needed to qualify for FEMA aid and $500,000 in damage for a county to qualify. Since this is largely a York County storm, Bracy said it would appear those threshold amounts would be easily surpassed.
Since the height of the storm, police, Public Works and other officials have been working double shifts, doing whatever can be done to keep the people safe. Bracy said there have been no injuries reported as of this time.
Bracy urged people to stay away from streams because there is no way to know how much of a bank may be eroded under the surface that could cause a collapse.
He also said sightseers should stay well away from areas that are flooded.
As of Monday morning the freshwater flooding in York Beach was down somewhat from the weekend.
There was "absolutely no salt water incursion" in the flooding, Bracy said.
He said many York Beach merchants had already stocked their stores for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and much of their merchandise has been damaged. However, he added, most merchants are saying they will open on time for the season.
