Federal officials began the assessment process Monday to calculate damage across Maine from last week’s heavy rain and flooding.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will assess damage to private homes and businesses in Aroostook County and to roads and other public infrastructure in the midcoast area, said Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

Heavy rain and melting snow caused river flooding across northern Maine, the worst of which took place at the confluence of the St. John and Fish rivers in Fort Kent. The heavy rain also caused extensive road damage across other parts of Maine.

Damage tallies to public infrastructure now exceed more than $1 million in Knox, Waldo, Lincoln, Piscataquis and Somerset counties, Miller said.

Most of the losses involve roads that were damaged or washed out during heavy rains that fell across the state in the middle of last week. The numbers will rise as additional counties report their damage.

Eight teams of FEMA officials will assess public infrastructure damage in Knox, Waldo, Lincoln, Piscataquis and Somerset counties, said FEMA spokesman Darby Duffin.

Four more FEMA teams will set up in Aroostook County to assess damage to homes and businesses in determining emergency assistance that might become available.

Gov. John Baldacci has made an expedited request for individual emergency assistance in Aroostook County. As damage estimates come in from across Maine, the numbers will be used to apply for federal assistance as needed.

U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Monday sent a letter to President Bush supporting Baldacci’s request.

In Island Falls, the waters of the Mattawamkeag River are reported to be receding, but a resort in the town is still housing families who were forced from their homes by the floodwaters.

During last week’s flooding, Route 2 in Island Falls was shut down, so there was no access in and out of town. Some residents sought lodging at the Vacationland Estates resort after the Mattawamkeag overflowed its banks.

The Maine Forest Service came to the town with boats to help evacuate people.

“We still have about 10 different families who are staying here,” Gail Whittaker, an employee at the facility, said Monday afternoon. “We have families who are waiting for the DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] to give them the go-ahead to go back to their homes. We have some families who are here because they still have water in their basements, and that is where their furnace is, so they have no heat.”

Seventy National Guard personnel were assisting homeowners in the St. John Valley and at Island Falls, helping residents clean out their homes and property.

A flood warning continued for the Mattawamkeag River at Mattawamkeag, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou. The river was at 13.5 feet Monday afternoon. Flood stage is 13 feet.

NWS meteorologist Mark Bloomer said Monday afternoon that the Mattawamkeag River is expected to continue to drop and could be at 13 feet by late Wednesday.

In St. Agatha, Town Manager Ryan Pelletier said Monday that the causeway that connects Pelletier Island to the mainland is returning to normal after being submerged for several days.

People on the island, which is in the middle of Long Lake, were cut off from the town due to the flooding. The island is part of the town.

“Right now, the water is low enough so that people can cross it,” he said. “But we are estimating that there is about $75,000 to $100,000 damage that has been done to the causeway. That is just an initial estimate. We will know more once everything goes back to normal.”

All other rivers in the region were “well behaved,” and no flooding problems were reported on Monday, according to Bloomer. Forecasters are watching a storm system that is expected to bring rain into the area on Thursday.

“We have conflicting reports right now about how much rain we will get,” he said. “But even if we get a good soaking rain, the rivers are low enough now so that they should be able to handle it. But we are watching that. If northern Aroostook gets more than 2 inches, the rivers could start to rise again.”

BDN writer Jen Lynds in Houlton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.