Current:Home > FinanceThis photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks -WealthMap Solutions
This photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks
View
Date:2025-04-14 12:54:32
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! (487)
Related
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Man gets 15 years to life for killing commuter he shoved into moving train in unprovoked attack
- In victory for Trump, Florida GOP won’t require signing loyalty oath to run in presidential primary
- A deputy fatally shot a dentist who fired gunshots outside a strip club, officials say
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial: Senate begins deliberations
- 3 men acquitted in last trial tied to 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
- Republican presidential hopefuls generally overlook New Hampshire in effort to blunt Trump in Iowa
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- 6 people accused of torturing, killing woman lured into religious group
Ranking
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Oops! I called my boss 'dude.' Career coaches weigh in on tricky workplace dilemmas
- Man is charged with threatening UAW President Shawn Fain on the eve of its strike against automakers
- How to launder $600 million on the internet
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Dog lost for 22 days at Atlanta airport was found thanks to Good Samaritan: Just so happy that I got her
- In San Francisco, Kenya’s president woos American tech companies despite increasing taxes at home
- Huluween and Disney+’s Hallowstream Will Get Every Witch Ready for the Spooky Season With These Premieres
Recommendation
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Norfolk Southern CEO promises to keep improving safety on the railroad based on consultant’s report
Vikings' Alexander Mattison reveals racial abuse from fans after fumble in loss to Eagles
Who is Travis Kelce dating? Rumors are buzzing over a possible Taylor Swift courtship
Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
National Hispanic Heritage Month highlights cultural diversity of Spanish-speaking Americans
Wisconsin impeachment review panel includes former GOP speaker, conservative justice
Katharine McPhee, David Foster break silence on their nanny's death