The cleanup begins in Old Orchard Beach and other coastal communities battered by Saturday's historic storm surge.
Ocean Park had several feet of floodwater on streets after the tide came in, prompting firefighters to check on elderly residents that were cut off by flooding. The water remained high into the evening, but receded overnight.
Lori Gramlich, director of the Ocean Park Association and state representative for Old Orchard Beach, said on Sunday that water was still standing in some remote areas of Ocean Park.
"The damage is extraordinary and we haven't been able to sink our teeth into how terrible the damage is. We know that if what we're looking at on Temple Avenue is any indication, the damage that people who live near Goosefare Creek incurred is enormous," she said.
Gramlich said the severity of the storm allowed the ocean to get into Ocean Park through an inlet to Goosefare Creek. She said the flood gates there that are meant to help prevent flooding were severely damaged in a winter storm in Dec. 2022, and FEMA reimbursements to Maine for that storm are just being received now.
In York County, officials say firefighters and utilities in several communities had to handle electrical fires, and standing floodwater undermined roads everywhere.
Megan Arsenault, deputy director of the York Emergency Management Agency, said municipalities didn't have time to do damage assessments for Wednesday's storm, and the state will ask the federal government to consider the two storm's together for federal assistance.
"A lot of the damages that happened for both storms were very similar. With storms being so close together that doesn't give towns time to properly complete the assessment that FEMA requires, since it was a quick turnaround with back to back storms," she said.
Arsenault is asking residents to stay away from coastal areas because many of them remain unsafe. She said emergency responders on Saturday had to rescue people who drove around barriers and got stranded.
Businesses and homeowners can submit damage assessments using Maine Emergency Management Agency forms. Officials need photos, measurements of damages, and records of repairs.
Arsenault said that completion of a damage assessment form does not mean that funding will be available to help cover the costs incurred by storm damage. But she said individuals and businesses can help the Maine Emergency Management Agency assess the need to request federal recovery aid by documenting the impact of the storms.
Visit this state website to learn more.
