# The Southern Maine Floods.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771 "2006-05-15T00:05:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/1 "2006-05-15T00:05:16Z")
Here in New England, we’re in the midst of a soaking storm, it’s been raining heavily the past 3+ days, Mass, and NH have already declared states of emergency, Maine has also declared a SoE, many places are experiencing low-level flooding… No, it’s nothing compared to Katrina, but bear in mind, New England hasn’t had major, widespread flooding in a long time, so it’s new to us… [This HomePage I made](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/PhotoAlbum38.html) shows Bartlett’s Brook, a little brook that runs under the access road to the house, at the start of flooding, it’s starting to erode the roadbed under the pavement, and there’s more rain on the way, at least until Wednesday/Thursday, this is just the start… Bartlett’s Brook has _NEVER_ flooded in the 35+ years we’ve lived here, this is a _first_ I also have some QuickTime movies of the flooded road (Dialup Warning, 5 MB)… [Torrential flow from the Bartlett Culvert](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood.MOV) [A pan of the flooded area, what appears to be a lake is actually flooded dry land](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood1.MOV), the right side of the culvert is actually a good 15 feet below the surface [Here you can see the start of erosion above the left culvert](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood2.MOV) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/2 "2006-05-15T03:03:54Z")
We tried to go to the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, MA for Mother’s Dat tday. We knew that downtown Peabody was flooded, so we drove around. We _still_ got caught by flooded streets and byways. We had to tun around and go home. On this evening’s _national_ news broadcast, they lead off with the flooding in Peabody! The narrow rivulet that normally passes under our street at its lowest point has swollen to a flood that covers the street 1 foot deep. All the neighbor’s huses have their basement lights on – I think they’re all pumping. We’e not in any great danger of flooding – we’re up on a hill – but for the first time even _we’ve_ had the most serious leak we’ve ever had. We’ve managed to divert it into a bucket, mopped up the rest, and put down kitty litter. But we’re keeping an eye on it. Roads are closed all over, and they’ve cancelled school here tomorow. Even the most optomistic reports don’t have the rain ending before Thursday at the earliest. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/3 "2006-05-15T10:01:28Z")
Is there any word on how hard the area around Old Orchard Beach is being hit? A good friend of mine has some close friends up there. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/4 "2006-05-15T12:32:33Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > No, it’s nothing compared to Katrina, but bear in mind, New England hasn’t had major, widespread flooding in a long time, so it’s new to us… Uh, what about October? So far the damage isn’t _nearly_ as bad as it was last fall. Fortunately, I’ve yet to see on the news that they’re worried about the dam down the street from my aunt (in Taunton MA) letting go this time, so I call it a marked improvement over the fall. Hopefully no houses will be washed away this time either. I called into work about half an hour ago because staties are now watching for people trying to go around the road block and making them turn back. Although I live accross the street from a river, our side of the road is way uphill so we’re not being evacuated like the folks whose backyards have been swallowed up by water. I’m suddenly glad we don’t have waterfront property. **Seige** , Old Orchard Beach is probably being hit pretty hard, like the rest of us. There are photos from York (south of OOB) with people using canoes on the flooded streets. On the other hand, it’s not so bad as to make the news itself. You can keep an eye on the situation there with [this site](http://www.topix.net/city/old-orchard-beach-me). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/5 "2006-05-15T12:41:26Z")
**elfkin** , here on the Massachusetts North Shore (and Southern NH, and southerm Maine) thwe effects far outrun anything in recent memory. Certainly more than last Fall. I’m seeing places flood that have never flooded before, far worse than the biggest flooding we had around here over ten years ago. States have been declared disaster areas, which didn’t happen back then. It’s not so bad this morning – the flooding went down on our street. But the traffic going into Boston was at a standstill, and a lot pf roads are closed due to flooding. Again, I don’t recall such a widespread disruption and wholesale closing of roads in N.E,. in all my time here. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/6 "2006-05-15T12:46:54Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Uh, what about October? So far the damage isn’t _nearly_ as bad as it was last fall. Fortunately, I’ve yet to see on the news that they’re worried about the dam down the street from my aunt (in Taunton MA) letting go this time, so I call it a marked improvement over the fall. Hopefully no houses will be washed away this time either. not to marginalize that flooding, bear in mind the operative term in my OP of _widespread_ flooding, this storm is hammering Maine, NH, Vt, and Mass, i _know_ ME, NH, and MA have declared states of emergency, i’m not sure if Vt has, but i think they have… 4 states experiencing flooding… geez it’s almost like Mother Nature doesn’t like the Human race anymore… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/7 "2006-05-15T13:33:51Z")
Now it’s front page on Yahoo: [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060515/ap\_on\_re\_us/new\_england\_flooding](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060515/ap_on_re_us/new_england_flooding) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/8 "2006-05-15T14:01:11Z")
I’m in southern New Hampshire, and I have 5 inches of water in the crawl space under the house. I had tickets to the Red Sox/Rangers game yesterday, which was rained out. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/9 "2006-05-15T14:07:21Z")
Thanks, **Elfkin**. I’ve passed word to my friend. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/10 "2006-05-15T15:00:09Z")
[Well, we _LOST_ Bartletts Brook road, half the road (the culvert side) has collapsed](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/PhotoAlbum39.html), it looks like a miniature Niagra Falls, the road’s a complete loss, there’s still the right side of the road that’s in (mostly) one piece, but the left lane is _GONE_ Heres three more QuickTimes of the destroyed road area [http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood3.MOV](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood3.MOV) [http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood4.MOV](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood4.MOV) [http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood5.MOV](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Flood5.MOV) i’m at work, on the drive in there were no less than _three_ areas with flooding over the road that were simply low lying areas, no rivers/streams/lakes involved… the Cocheco river is right next to my work, it’s about 6 inches below flooding… _AND IT’S ONLY LOW TIDE…_ the tide is due in in about 4 hours from now… ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/11 "2006-05-15T17:30:52Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > I had tickets to the Red Sox/Rangers game yesterday, which was rained out. I had a seat on the Monster Friday night. That sucked. We stuck it out until the first run scored in the top of the 6th and then hightailed it to Who’s on First. I couldn’t believe they even TRIED to play that game AND that it went long enough to be a complete game. Grrr. I was looking forward to a make-up game in June… ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/12 "2006-05-15T17:32:48Z")
MacTech–those pictures are incredible. Keep us posted–what happened with the high tide? ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/13 "2006-05-15T18:15:12Z")
Latest update from Dover, NH… the Cocheco River is really swelling it’s banks, it’s partially flooded Henry Law Park (across the road from my office), and the water is _inches_ away from flooding some of the lower sections of the parking lot… i’m hoping the Cocheco can handle the influx of rain and floodwater, the Milton Bridge upriver _has_ failed and _that_ water should be dumping into the Cocheco as well… in the past 10 minutes, i’ve seen river levels rise at least 3 inches I’m expecting actual flooding in the parking lot around 4 PM-ish, give or take as far as Bartletts Brook goes, i’ll drive home that way after work, i’m expecting a _complete_ washout of the road, as the rain shows _no_ signs of stopping, Bartletts is a total loss at this point… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/14 "2006-05-15T18:47:34Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Latest update from Dover, NH… > > the Cocheco River is really swelling it’s banks, it’s partially flooded Henry Law Park (across the road from my office), and the water is _inches_ away from flooding some of the lower sections of the parking lot… Wow, really? Until Feb of last year we worked in the big mill building along Henry Law. It’s hard to imagine it flooding over given how shallow it is most of the time. I hope the blue herrons who hang out there have found a good place to weather the storm. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/15 "2006-05-15T19:13:11Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Wow, really? Until Feb of last year we worked in the big mill building along Henry Law. It’s hard to imagine it flooding over given how shallow it is most of the time. I hope the blue herrons who hang out there have found a good place to weather the storm. ☹ Elfkin, so you worked in One Washington Center then? (the old Clarostat building) let me give you an idea how high the water is… you know the covered walking bridge over the Cocheco, right, well, a little ways back, there’s remnants of an old railway trellis support (granite blocks) that pile of granite blocks is _submerged_, at least 3-4" of water covers it, the Cocheco hasn’t breached it’s banks yet, but it’s damn close… i’ll go take some pics and make another HomePage… ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/16 "2006-05-15T19:16:51Z")
Wow. I haven’t seen any roads out in my recent travels (Burlington, Essex, Montpelier, Stowe Morrisville). The last time I remember any kind of real flooding was a number of years back when I was camping up at lake Elmore. It rained hard for the first day and a half we were there. When we left we left our tents and such 'cause we didn’t want to pack them wet. The next day the road had washed out behind us, and we had to wait a few days for the water to go down before we could go back and get our stuff. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/17 "2006-05-15T19:53:13Z")
[Pictures from Dover, NH, One Washington Center (Clarostat)](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/PhotoAlbum40.html) The Cocheco has officially flooded the far banks, the Dover Indoor Pool parking lot and Henry Law Park are submerged, and it’s damn close to flooding Clarostat’s parking lot as well… Quicktimes; [http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood.MOV](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood.MOV) [http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood2.MOV](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood2.MOV) [http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood3.MOV](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood3.MOV) [http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood4.MOV](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Doverflood4.MOV) ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/18 "2006-05-16T01:17:19Z")
The Ipswich River in (surprise!) Ipswich, MA has pretty much overflown its banks in the middle of town. It’s at least as high as any of the locals I talked to had ever seen it. This is a river that’s barely a trickle in the summer, but today, the main street through town (Rte 1A) was flooded up to six inches high in places. Several nearby businesses and houses are flooded. One riverside restaurant patio where I’ve often eaten had the resin tables and chairs floating around in the screened off porch. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/19 "2006-05-16T02:32:28Z")
Wow - I’m sorry to hear that y’all are being inundated. This shows that the question isn’t _if_ a flood is going to occur, it’s _when_. Good luck - perhaps the peak has passed. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771/20 "2006-05-16T02:34:35Z")
Here’s a link to [photos from the Boston area](http://www.boston.com/news/weather/gallery/readers_rain_photos/). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-maine-floods/356771.md?page=2)