Massive rainstorm soaks Maine, killing 2

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Maine’s coast took a pounding Monday as a massive nor’easter slammed into the state, flooding roads, sinking boats at docks, and knocking out power to more than 130,000 homes and businesses.

A Lebanon woman and her 4-year-old granddaughter perished when they were swept into fast-moving floodwaters as they tried to cross a washed-out section of road to get to the woman’s home in the town near the New Hampshire line, the Maine Warden Service reported.

Rescuers in a boat pulled Donna Dube, 50, and Saphire Perro of Manchester, N.H., from the Little River, but they were pronounced dead at a Sanford hospital. George Eliason, 40, of Lebanon, who was swept into the river when he went to the aid of Dube and her granddaughter, was rescued by wardens and treated for hypothermia.

“This is a really remarkable storm with a smorgasbord of different weather patterns,” Tony Stury of the National Weather Service in Caribou said Monday, calling the storm “a grand slam.”

“We’ve had coastal flooding, inland flooding, high winds, snow, rain, sleet and ice,” he said. “And we still have a ways to go.”

Stury said a record-breaking 7 inches of rain fell in some areas of Maine, along with 12 inches of snow in the mountains.

Another 2 inches of rain was expected throughout the night and lighter rain would continue through Wednesday. Coastal areas were bracing for another high tide between 9 and 11 p.m.

“This storm is a slow mover,” Stury added. “Usually these make a beeline for the Gulf of Maine at a decent clip, but this one is stalled over New York City and Long Island.”

Heavy coastal damage was reported from Portland to Jonesboro, said Maine Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Lynette Miller.

“This is a terrible storm, doing terrible damage,” Miller said. She compared it to huge coastal storms of 1991 and 1996 that did millions of dollars in damage.

The only good news Monday was that the Internal Revenue Service announced that victims of the storm in the northeast will have two additional days to file their tax returns beyond the April 17 tax deadline.

Taxpayers directly affected by the storm have until midnight April 19 to meet their tax filing obligations without incurring late filing and payment penalties.

Affected taxpayers can mark their paper tax returns with the words “April 16 Storm.” Taxpayers who e-file their returns can use their software’s “disaster” feature, if available. Taxpayers can keep up to date by visiting the IRS.gov Web site and clicking on “Newsroom.”

Residents of York County will surely qualify for the extension if they need it, as nearly 7 inches of rain fell in Maine’s southernmost county, causing flash flooding and sending some people to shelters.

Gusts that topped 80 mph toppled trees, making roads impassable.

The Maine National Guard sent 120 to 160 soldiers to southern Maine early Monday afternoon to help clear roads and provide traffic control.

Soldiers of the 169th Military Police Detachment of Bangor helped direct traffic in a variety of flooded southern Maine communities, including Westbrook and Boothbay, according to Maj. Michael Backus, director of public affairs for the Maine National Guard.

Members of the 286th Petroleum Supply Battalion of Bangor and the 1136th Transportation Company of Bangor transported cots and other supplies to shelters set up throughout York County, he said. Others cleared downed trees and limbs that were blocking roads.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency requested activation of the Guard troops, but how long their services would be required was unknown, Backus said.

While National Guard leaders from around the country recently drew attention in Washington to how poorly equipped their units are in the states, Backus said the Maine Guard has sufficient equipment for this mission.

The storm arrived Sunday and dumped 6 to 12 inches of heavy, wet snow across the higher elevations of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Warren, Vt., reported 17 inches.

As snow and rain swept across the state, Gov. John Baldacci signed an emergency declaration Sunday night to speed repairs by allowing crews from other areas to travel to Maine, said David Farmer, the governor’s spokesman.

As predicted, powerful gusts caused massive power outages. As of Monday afternoon, wind gusts included 81 mph in Cape Elizabeth, 61 mph in Freeport, 57 mph in Portland and 53 mph in Wiscasset, according to the National Weather Service.

In Hancock County, two families were forced from their homes. The Hancock Emergency Management Agency arranged for overnight shelter for an elderly couple from Southwest Harbor who had lost power at their residence, and a family in Gouldsboro found shelter with neighbors after their home was damaged by a fallen tree.

An astronomical high tide added to concerns about coastal flooding. Although tidal waters did not swamp the Deer Isle causeway at high tide, which came a little after 10:30 a.m., waves driven by steady winds and stronger gusts broke repeatedly over the causeway throughout the morning, depositing rocks and other debris on the road that were repeatedly removed by a plow truck.

In Acadia National Park, several trees blew over on Schoodic Drive near Schoodic Point. Late Monday afternoon park officials were considering closing the one-way road to Schoodic Point because of the high winds and falling trees.

Park roads that were closed for the winter remain closed because of the recent wintry weather. Blackwoods Campground in the Mount Desert village of Otter Creek was closed Sunday in anticipation of Monday’s weather, park officials said.

At Thunder Hole on Mount Desert Island, weather watchers pulled up in their vehicles on Park Loop Road and hopped out to get good looks at the enormous waves and pounding surf. No spectators stayed out of their cars for long, however, as the strong winds and stinging rain made being outside uncomfortable.

Coast Guard officials said that, as of late Monday afternoon, most of the incidents they were responding to were in southern Maine. Several boats were reported adrift between Portland and Boothbay, but there had been no calls for rescuing sailors at sea, Coast Guard officials said.

Farther east, there was one report of a skiff adrift in Jonesport. More reports are likely to filter in over the next several days as owners check on their boats, Coast Guard officials said.

In Brooklin, a firetruck was trapped by trees and downed wires on Flye Point Road for about an hour Monday afternoon. In Bucksport, Town Manager Roger Raymond worried about what another 2 inches of rain would bring.

“We’ve had only minor outages and there has been no flooding so far,” Raymond said. “But if we get another 2 inches tonight, we could still be seeing some problems.”

With the rain and winds expected to continue into Tuesday, emergency management officials expected to keep an eye out for coastal flooding through the night. “We’re still concerned with the high tides this evening which will come at about 10:40 p.m.,” said Linda Feury, deputy director of the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency. “And we’re still expecting a storm surge of about 2 feet.”

In southern Maine, damage was widespread. A nursing home in Portland was evacuated, Amtrak’s Downeaster suspended service when tracks were washed out in Berwick, and at least three boats sank in Portland Harbor. Miller, of the Maine EMA, said the bridge approach to Spruce Head Island, south of Thomaston, was compromised Monday afternoon, prompting an evacuation of the island.

Robert Higgins, Somerset County Emergency Management director, said flood warnings have been issued for Sandy River Stream, Kennebec River, Carrabassett River and Sebasticook River. He said the Kennebec is expected to crest Tuesday night at 57,500 cubic feet per second, while normal flood flow is 35,000 cfs.

The Sebasticook River at Pittsfield is expected to hit 9.6 feet, 6 inches above flood stage, and the Sandy River Stream at Mercer should be a foot and a half above its 12-foot flood stage.

“Expect minor flooding, avoid rising water, do not drive through barricades or through standing water,” Higgins advised.

Throughout most of the state, highway crews, police and firefighters were kept busy responding to alerts of downed

trees and limbs, clogged catch basins and streams and rivers flooding their banks.

In Rockland, police closed access to the public landing as waves pounded over the seawall and water inundated the parking lot. Camden police and public works crews

responded to a number of calls of downed trees, limbs landing on parked cars and power lines, and flooding. As soon as one problem was addressed, the crews would be rushed to handle another.

“Oh, it’s awful,” Camden police dispatcher Diane Moody said. “It’s been crazy all day.”

In Eastport, high winds blew out windows in two stores at the “old Berman Mall” on Water Street, City Manager George “Bud” Finch said Monday. Shattered glass was strewn across the street and for a time Water Street, which runs through the downtown, was blocked by school buses to keep people away from the area and to give city crews time to clean up the mess.

At Lincolnville Beach there were concerns that Route 1 would be flooded at high tide Monday morning but the water crossing the road was never higher than a few inches and traffic was allowed to proceed along the highway.

Central Maine Power was reporting 125,300 power outages Monday afternoon, while Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. reported about 8,700.

Bangor Hydro spokeswoman Susan Faloon reported the outage number had dropped to 7,377 by 5:30 p.m., mostly in Hancock County, but she warned that residents could be waiting until today for power to be restored.

Utility crews were busy dealing with downed power lines that posed public safety threats, delaying power restoration efforts in CMP territory, spokeswoman Gail Rice said.

It was bad enough that CMP already was predicting it would take some time before electricity was restored for all customers. “We’re talking multiple days,” Rice said.

Heavy rain and winds did not halt air traffic at Bangor International Airport on Monday, but some passengers did not reach their final destinations because connector flights were canceled.

Flights to Boston were on time Monday afternoon, but Delta Airways had canceled its midday flight from Atlanta to Bangor, according to Heidi Suletzki, BIA passenger service supervisor. Continental Airlines flights from Newark, N.J., to Bangor also were canceled, she said.

“A lot of people are calling ahead to check on their flights, so we don’t have many people here waiting around,” she said. “We recommend passengers call ahead, or check the airline’s Web sites.”

Portland International Jetport lost power Monday but officials said it didn’t affect the few flights that weren’t grounded on what, for many, was the first day of spring vacation.

As the massive storm rolled across the Eastern part of the U.S., one person died in a car stalled in deep water in an underpass in New Jersey, one person was killed by a tornado in South Carolina, and two died in car accidents – one in upstate New York and one in Connecticut. The same storm was blamed for five deaths earlier in Texas and Kansas.

BDN writers Walter Griffin, Rich Hewitt, Sharon Mack, Toni-Lynn Robbins, Bill Trotter, Diana Graettinger and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS

Ted Owens (left) watches nature’s fury as big waves crash on the Rockland Breakwater. Owens said he recently moved to the midcoast from Dalton, Ga. “This was way worse than last fall’s big storm,” Owens said of a visit then to the breakwater. The man at right is not identified.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KATE COLLINS

Megan Mathieu (from left) jumps over a puddle as she walks through the University of Maine campus in Orono with Megan Callen and Stephanie Madrid on Monday.