AUGUSTA, Maine — Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of one of the worst floods in Maine history.
On April 1, 1987, major rivers overflowed their banks, ripping out bridges and roads, destroying homes and wrecking businesses.
Experts called it a 500-year flood, while others called it the April Fools’ Day flood.
By the time it was over, Maine Today Media reports, 2,100 homes had been flooded; 215 were destroyed and 240 more sustained major damage.
The Maine Emergency Management Agency says the state had a normal snowpack and normal flood potential in late March 1987. But two storms brought rain to the mountains and foothills of Maine and New Hampshire, which combined with 6 or more inches of melted snow. The water ran over frozen ground, and streams and rivers flooded.
My family and I lived through this flood, the destruction it did, the lives it uprooted and in my humble opinion surely deserves more than a short, tightly condensed AP story. The BDN has become a JOKE.
I know, I picture might be nice, or some information about locations that the destuction and damages took place.
You be careful, or you will return to a thread filled with, “guest comment removed”. BDN needs not put up with your insubordinance. Just wondering, BDN, is Valcourt french?
The BDN seems to be a little sensitive……Then you have the thin skinned people hitting the flag button because they disagree with you……
You said it, brudder!
…Fond memories of comments past… :P
Maine Sunday Telegram’s article/KJ’s/MS’ are nearly as much of a joke as this one. With how severely the Kennebec flooded, and with all the pictures taken by KJ/MS staff back then, you’d think they’d have had a special section on this flood like they did back on the 1st anniversary. They probably could have pulled-up that special section from 24 years ago, dusted it off a little, run it and no one would have known the difference.
I remember it well, in Piscataquis County.
25 years is time enough that there is now a generation that does not remember it. Actually probably close to two generations.
I remember that flood well. I was working at Sugarloaf that winter. GREAT winter skiing and was a good spring… until that day. I had gone for a visit to some friends in the Bangor area and got stuck there. Travel was restricted from Kingfield on up since a lot of the road washed out. And just getting from Bangor to the west was a challenge too. Ended up saying home with my folks for a few days. When I finally could get back to my mountain “home”, the season was pretty much done. I remember very well the devastation. Bridges gone. Roadway gone. Houses damaged.
We had better hope that doesn’t happen again any time soon. The local, state, and federal governments wouldn’t have the money to clean up the mess. I lived in Pittsfield during that flood. The Sebasticook River cut the town in half, then flooded both halves. It took months to clean up the mess.