Current:Home > ContactThis photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks -Wealth Evolution Experts
This photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks
View
Date:2025-04-14 13:42:54
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! (67)
Related
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- The Latest: Harris ad calls her ‘fearless,’ while Trump ad blasts her for border problems
- Red Sox beef up bullpen by adding RHP Lucas Sims from the Reds as trade deadline approaches
- Prosecutor opposes ‘Rust’ armorer’s request for release as she seeks new trial for set shooting
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Banks want your voice data for extra security protection. Don't do it!
- Stephen Nedoroscik waited his whole life for one routine. The US pommel horse specialist nailed it
- How Stephen Nedoroscik Became Team USA's Pommel Horse Hero
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Look: Ravens' Derrick Henry reviews USA rugby's Ilona Maher's viral stiff arm in 2024 Paris Olympics: 'She got it'
Ranking
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- How Harris and Trump differ on artificial intelligence policy
- Pregnant Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan Reveal Sex of Twin Babies
- Perfect photo of near-perfect surfer goes viral at 2024 Olympics
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Look: Ravens' Derrick Henry reviews USA rugby's Ilona Maher's viral stiff arm in 2024 Paris Olympics: 'She got it'
- Evacuations ordered for Colorado wildfire as blaze spreads near Loveland: See the map
- Prosecutor opposes ‘Rust’ armorer’s request for release as she seeks new trial for set shooting
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Georgia seaport closes gap with Baltimore, the top US auto port
Target denim take back event: Trade in your used jeans for a discount on a new pair
How did Simone Biles do Tuesday? U.S. wins gold medal in team all-around final
Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
Construction company in Idaho airport hangar collapse ignored safety standards, OSHA says
Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary sentenced to life in prison for directing a terrorist group
What was Jonathan Owens writing as he watched Simone Biles? Social media reacts