Extreme weather battered the state during a series of storms and floods last December and January. High waters lifted homes and businesses off their foundations, destroyed cars and marred working waterfronts and beloved landmarks.
Through the worst of it, photographers from the Portland Press Herald, Sun Journal, Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal set out to document the damage — and Mainers’ efforts to limit it. Here are the most memorable photos.
See all of our 2024 Photos of the Year from across the Maine Trust for Local news.
A tree that fell during the wind and rain storm on Dec. 18, 2023, prevents Carmen Bourgoin from opening the front door of her home off Fuller Drive in Winslow. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
A pickup truck is stranded on a washed-out Sunday River access road in Newry on Dec. 19, 2023, after heavy rain the day before. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
The swollen Kennebec River rages Dec. 19, 2023, beneath the railroad bridge that connects Waterville to Winslow. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
Floodwaters from the Kennebec River surround cars parked at the Hathaway Creative Center in Waterville, on Dec.19, 2023. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
The Gould Academy competition center at Sunday River in Newry sits filled with mud on Dec. 19, 2023. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Rachel Lessard, center, and daughter Adyson, 12, warm themselves by a fire pit as dad and husband P.J. heats water with a propane grill in the driveway of their home in Winslow on Dec. 19, 2023. The family has been without power for over 24 hours, and their home has no heat, hot water, lights or operating refrigerator. It was 59 degrees inside, they said. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
A 51mm gun from a Naval ship and an Army Jeep at Veterans Memorial Park in Lewiston are overcome by the Androscoggin River the morning of Dec. 20, 2023. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Steve Pochebit empties a wheelbarrow of rocks on Jan. 10 that washed up in his driveway and covered Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport, making the road near the Bush family compound at Walker’s Point impassable. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald
Susan Shannon sweeps water out of her store, Sea Glass Jewelry Studio in Kennebunkport, on Jan. 10. Shannon has been in that space since 2006 and says she thinks the flooding that day from the Kennebunk River is the worst she has ever seen. Shannon said she had 7 1/2 inches of water in her store. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald
Water laps over Mile Road in Wells during high tide on Jan. 10. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald
A cottage floats in New Harbor on Jan. 11 after it separated from its pilings during a storm the day before. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
Jim Hazell of Bristol Parks and Recreation recovers a door from the Bell House at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse on Jan. 10. The lighthouse was damaged after being struck by high waves and wind gusts the day before. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
At low tide on Jan. 12, Alex Barbour, left, and Matt Hayes work on stabilizing the floor of a boat shop from underneath the building at Brown’s Boatyard. Both men live in Portland now but spent many years working at the boatyard in New Harbor. They came back to the island to help try to secure the building before another storm the next day. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
A volunteer hoists a beam through a large crack between the floor and wall of the boat shop at Brown’s Boatyard on Jan. 12. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
Foy W. Brown watches the flooding around his family’s boatyard in North Haven at high tide during a storm on Jan. 13. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
Dan Salvucci walks back to his home along a mud-covered Days Lane in Wells after storm surge tides receded on Jan. 13. Salvucci lives right on the edge of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, and the water came up about four feet around his house, topping the hood of his car, which he had parked on high ground. He ended up losing a generator and lawn mower that were in a shed that flooded, and his car was irreparably damaged by the high water. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald
A group paddles a canoe around a flooded Custom House Wharf at high tide in Portland on Jan. 13. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald
Ash Salisbury carries debris from the iconic fishing shacks at Willard Beach that were washed away in a storm on Jan. 13. Salisbury plans to make a table out of the debris. “It’s like losing a family member,” Salisbury said. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
Passerby Emily Lane helps Zach Fisette push his pickup truck to higher ground after becoming swamped on Somerset Street in Portland on Jan. 13. Fisette said he underestimated the water depth, adding that the street had not yet been barricaded by the city. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Crews dismantle the Tara Lynn II on the shore of Cape Elizabeth on Jan. 19 during low tide. The Tara Lynn II ran aground during the storm on Jan. 13, and four crew members were rescued. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald
Gabby Saxton carries her friend Ally Borgens on her back as she walks through floodwater on the Portland Pier at high tide on Feb. 13. Saxton lives in Harpswell and Borgens was in town visiting her. “She is visiting from Florida, so we had to get her a lobster roll. This wasn’t going to stop us,” Saxton said. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
