CARIBOU – While the water was rising in the St. John Valley, minor to significant flooding and road closures were reported in towns throughout Aroostook County and in parts of Penobscot County, and flood warnings continued for numerous rivers across the state.

Most businesses, schools and civic centers in the St. John Valley were closed for safety reasons Wednesday.

Flood warnings were in effect Wednesday evening for the Allagash River above Allagash, the St. John River at Fort Kent, the Fish River above Fort Kent, the Aroostook River below Masardis, the Mattawamkeag River at Mattawamkeag, the Penobscot River at West Enfield and at Eddington, the east branch of the Penobscot River above Grindstone, and the Piscataquis River at Medford.

Response to the situation in The County came from federal, state, county and local agencies.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent a support team to the area in the early afternoon. The state Emergency Operations Center was activated to support the response.

Officials with the National Weather Service said Wednesday that the combination of heavy rain and snowmelt had pushed several northern Maine rivers to exceed flood stage.

Law enforcement agencies had reported that smaller streams and rivers throughout the area continued to rise over their banks, according to the NWS.

At 4 p.m. Tuesday the NWS issued a flash flood warning because of a dam failure in Washburn.

Officials said the Mill Pond Dam on the Salmon Brook upstream from the Aroostook River was breaking down with the upper end of the dam giving way and water flooding wooded areas. Affected locations included Washburn and Wade.

An estimated 12 feet of water was behind the lower end of the dam, and officials warned that if the lower end breached, six to seven feet of water would move downstream, affecting homes.

The flood warning in Washburn was replaced by a flood watch at about 10 p.m. Wednesday.

“The situation isn’t as immediate” as it was earlier in the day, said Leeann Allegretto of the National Weather Service.

In Fort Kent, The American Red Cross set up an emergency shelter in the University of Maine at Fort Kent Sports Center.

Approximately 150 students were evacuated from UMFK at 1 p.m. Wednesday to temporary living quarters at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and at Northern Maine Community College until further notice. The move was necessitated by the closing of sewers in Fort Kent and the resulting curtailment of shower and toilet facilities.

State offices in the St. John Valley, including Fort Kent, Van Buren and Madawaska, were closed at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

At least two roads, Beaulieu and Gagnon Roads, were closed in Madawaska because of water from Gagnon Brook.

Farther downriver, a mandatory evacuation was put into effect in the town of Keegan on Wednesday afternoon because of flooding from the St. John River.

The International Bridge and the international railroad bridge from Van Buren to St. Leonard, New Brunswick, were shut down Wednesday night as flood waters came within a foot of reaching their girders, Van Buren Town Councilman Charles Clarke said.

The biggest concern, he said, was that floating debris would lodge itself under the bridge, create a dam effect and cause more flooding or damage to the structure of the bridges.

Concerns over a propane tank railroad car on a track adjacent to the railroad bridge lessened when it was learned the tank was empty, Clarke said. As floating debris, however, it still could damage the bridge.

A house near Frenchville that was torn from its foundation by rising waters floated under the Madawaska bridge, the councilman said, then lodged itself against the river bank before reaching Van Buren. Clarke did not know where the house had been located.

Van Buren town officials declared a state of emergency at 1:02 p.m. and kept roads open as long as they could, he said, but by 7 p.m. Route 1A between Van Buren and Hamlin had been closed. He expected that Route 1 between Van Buren and Madawaska would be shut down before midnight.

One pumping station connected to the town sewer system had been shut down in the Keegan section of the community. Clarke said he and other officials were concerned the town’s entire sewage pumping system might have to be shut down.

There also was flooding at Sherman and Island Falls on Route 11 and roads overrun at Sinclair.

The Island Falls’ fire chief along with many other residents of the Southern Aroostook town were spending Wednesday night at Vacationland Resorts after the Mattawamkeag River overflowed its banks.

“Route 2 is shut down, so there’s no access in and out of town,” Fire Chief Josh McNally said Wednesday night. “The emergency shelter has got a foot of water in it, but there’s a lot of people up north who are worse off than we are.”

McNally said that his house is located about 150 feet from the river. He said that his home has about 3 or 4 feet of water in the basement, but the water surrounding it was between 5 feet and 6 feet deep about midday Wednesday.

The Maine Forest Service came to town with boats, he said and helped people get out to the resort condominiums, where management is letting people stay for free, the fire chief said.

Pets aren’t allowed at the resort, he said, but a local kennel, Fish Stream Kennels, was taking in residents’ pets without charging boarding fees.

So many of the town’s children are staying at the resort, McNally said, the school bus was scheduled to pick them up there Thursday morning.

The Penobscot County Emergency Management Agency sent a trailer full of cots, blankets and other supplies to Island Falls late Wednesday. But the plan was to try to get the supplies to the St. John Valley where it is needed from Southern Aroostook County, according to McNally.

In eastern Penobscot County, flooding along the Mattawamkeag River at Mattawamkeag forced about 15 homes to be evacuated Wednesday afternoon, according to Fire Chief Robert Powers.

Mattawamkeag volunteer firefighters and Maine Forest Service Ranger Ritchie Hafford helped relocate residents on Hathaway, Jordon Mills and River roads near the Penobscot and Mattawamkeag rivers. No injuries were reported.

Rising waters also were reported in Medway along the Grindstone Road and in Millinocket on Iron Bridge Road and Penobscot Avenue. The flooding occurred in chronic washout areas and did not seem severe.

“This is no 100-year storm,” Hafford said. “This is average.”

Of the flooding reported in the area, Mattawamkeag’s was the worst. It rolled over portions of Route 157 and half-buried houses, sheds and garages.

Officials turned the town office meeting room into a shelter that could hold as many as 100 displaced residents. The American Red Cross of Bangor was notified, officials said.

Maine Department of Transportation crews were out in force in Aroostook County repairing roads and culverts and closing some roads because of flooding.

Dana Chasse, regional supervisor of operations for the northern region DOT office in Presque Isle, said crews had been out all day repairing areas of roads that had washed out and fixing or replacing damaged culverts.

Numerous roads throughout Aroostook were affected. Water was reported on a section of Route 2 in Island Falls. Route 1 between Madawaska and Fort Kent was closed due to water in two places. The Route 11 bridge was closed in Moor Plantation.

Along Route 11 from Knolls Corner to Patten, the Mattawamkeag Bridge was closed as twin I-beam stems on the bridge had settled 8 inches. Engineers from Augusta were on the way Wednesday afternoon to the area to evaluate the problem.

The Old Patten Road in Island Falls also was closed Wednesday afternoon.

In Houlton, parts of the Meduxnekeag River had overflowed its banks, and water had spilled onto the walking trails near Riverfront Park.

The problems were worse on the U.S. side of the St. John River, but warnings were being issued to residents in low-lying areas around Fredericton, New Brunswick, about 200 miles east of Fort Kent.

Emergency officials in New Brunswick warned people living along the St. John River to brace for the worst flood in decades with up to 1,300 homes threatened by the rising water. Canadian officials warned that floodwaters would continue to rise until Thursday morning, when the crest in the Fredericton area would likely reach a level just below the record level set in 1973.

Commenting on the situation in Aroostook County, 2nd District U.S. Rep Michael Michaud said in a press release that he stood “ready to help in any way that I can.”

Michaud said he had been in contact with the Maine Emergency Management Agency “to offer any assistance that I can provide in advocating for federal relief.”

“If this disaster is beyond the capabilities of our state and local governments to respond, I will work with the governor to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency steps up and provides needed assistance,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said in a press release that her “heart goes out to all of the families and businesses that are being displaced by this flooding,” adding she had been in touch with FEMA and U.S. Coast Guard officials who had sent personnel to assist Maine at the Emergency Operations Center and to monitor the situation.

“I am confident that, if called upon, FEMA and the Coast Guard will act quickly and urgently to assist those in need,” she said.

She vowed to continue to monitor the situation and to “stand ready to support any request for federal assistance that the Governor deems necessary to help protect lives, homes, businesses, and infrastructure in The County.”

A handful of roads in Piscataquis County were closed Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, but all of the roads except Route 11 between Brownville and Millinocket were open by Wednesday night.

Floodwaters overnight stranded Lakeview Plantation residents. In addition, the Harlow Pond Road and the Back Abbot Road were flooded overnight, according to Mike Curtis, a dispatcher at the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department. In Guilford, the Piscataquis River flooded the recreation field. Curtis said Route 11 remained closed Wednesday evening because of the washouts.

Officials at the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency said that while water levels were high in some areas, flooding was not a concern. Power outages did hit the county late Tuesday evening, mostly due to high winds. At its peak, about 9 p.m., 791 households in Hancock County were without power, according to a Bangor Hydro Electric Co. release. Most customers’ electricity was restored by Wednesday morning.

In Knox County, roads damaged by heavy rain and flooding were closed or posted in the towns of Warren, Appleton, Union and Washington on Tuesday night.

BDN writers Jen Lynds in Houlton, Nick Sambides in Millinocket, Diana Bowley in Dover-Foxcroft, Eric Russell in Ellsworth, George Chappell in Rockland, Judy Harrison in Bangor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.