Current:Home > FinanceThis photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks -Stellar Financial Insights
This photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks
View
Date:2025-04-24 23:39:46
MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) — A record high tide in Maine washed away three historic fishing shacks that had stood since the 1800s and formed the backdrop of countless photographs.
Michelle Erskine said she was visiting fisherman’s point at Willard Beach in South Portland on Saturday when she captured video footage of the last two wooden shacks sliding into the ocean.
“Oh no. They’re both going. Oh no!” she can be heard saying on the video.
Erskine, who has lived in South Portland all her life, said her son had his senior photos taken at the shacks and wedding parties often visited them.
“It’s truly a sad day for the community and the residents of South Portland,” Erskine said in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday. “History is just being washed away.”
The shacks, owned by the city of South Portland, had just undergone a facelift in October when they were repainted.
They were the last in a series of fishing shacks that predate the city’s incorporation after they were first built along the shore and then moved to their most recent location in the 1880s. Erskine said they once housed lobster traps and fishing gear. Two shacks were destroyed in an earlier storm in 1978.
A record 14.57-foot (4.4-meter) high tide was measured in Portland, Maine, just after noon on Saturday, after a storm surge amplified what was already the month’s highest tide, said National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Cempa. That broke the previous record of 14.17 feet (4.3 meters) set in 1978 and was the highest since measurements began in 1912. Cempa said the tide gauge measures the difference between the high tide and the average low tide.
The surge flooded some homes in Orchard Beach and Kennebunkport in Maine, and Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. It came just days after a previous storm damaged one of Maine’s most beloved lighthouses which is featured on the state quarter.
“Very sadly, all three fishing shacks at Willard Beach have been completely destroyed,” the city wrote on its Facebook page.
But the South Portland Historical Society sounded a note of hope, saying on social media that it had prepared for such an event by last year enlisting architects and engineers to create drawings “so that everything would be in place to build reproductions of the shacks, if needed.”
The society is asking for donations to rebuild.
veryGood! (661)
Related
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Circus elephant briefly escapes, walks through Butte, Montana streets: Watch video
- Woman files lawsuit accusing Target of illegally collecting customers' biometric data
- Riley Strain's Family Addresses Fraternity Brothers' Reaction to Him Going Missing
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Things to know as courts and legislatures act on transgender kids’ rights
- Video shows car flying through the air before it crashes into California home
- OJ Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Man up for parole more than 2 decades after Dartmouth professor stabbing deaths
Ranking
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Caitlin Clark vs. Diana Taurasi, Finals rematch among 10 best WNBA games to watch in 2024
- The fluoride fight: Data shows more US cities, towns remove fluoride from drinking water
- Jimmy John's selling Deliciously Dope Dime Bag to celebrate 4/20. How much is it?
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Bojangles expands to California: First location set for LA, many more potentially on the way
- DHS announces new campaign to combat unimaginable horror of child exploitation and abuse online
- How 'Little House on the Prairie' star Melissa Gilbert shaped a generation of women
Recommendation
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Ham Sandwiches
Uber is helping investigators look into account that sent driver to Ohio home where she was killed
John Lennon's son Sean Ono Lennon, Paul McCartney's son James McCartney release song together
The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
Rory McIlroy shoots down LIV Golf rumors: 'I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career'
Patriots deny report that Robert Kraft warned Arthur Blank against hiring Bill Belichick
We Promise Checking Out Victoria Beckham's Style Evolution Is What You Really, Really Want