According to Lincoln County Communications Center in Wiscasset, a number of roads in Lincoln County were damaged as a result of a torrential rainfall that occurred late Thursday night. As of this posting no roads are closed although flooding and washout reports were current as of 3 p.m.
Flooding was reported on Head Tide Rd. and Rt. 218 in Alna; on Rt. 126 in Whitefield near the Jefferson town line; Rt. 215 in Newcastle near Happy Valley Rd., and Biscay Rd. in Damariscotta.
Washouts were reported on East Pond Rd. in Nobleboro, Sennett Rd. in Jefferson, Ward Brook Rd. in Wiscasset and North Dyer Neck Rd., in Newcastle. Also on River Rd. in Newcastle, approximately 200 feet of the road shoulder was washed away.
In Waldoboro, washouts were reported in two areas on Flanders Corner Rd. and erosion was reported on Orff’s Corner Rd.
McKay Rd. in Edgecomb was partially closed due to a washout but is reopened for local traffic.
According to Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency Director Tim Pellerin, the heavy downpour combined with an already saturated ground encouraged flood conditions.
“What we had was two to five inches of rain in two hours,” Pellerin said. “The severity of that much rain; because the ground was already saturated, the water didn’t have any place to go.”
Local EMA officers have been asked to evaluate storm damages in their individual towns and file a report with the Lincoln County EMA office as soon as possible, Pellerin said.
Currently estimated storm damage totals are incomplete. If and when the county’s threshold for federal assistance is met, Pellerin said he will begin the process of applying for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance to help storm recovery efforts.
Among the storm related damages reported last night, an Edgecomb firefighter was severely injured in a traffic accident on North Dyer Neck Rd. in Newcastle. The firefighter was responding to a structure fire in Nobleboro.
Pellerin strongly cautioned members of the public to observe damaged areas, typically marked with traffic cones and caution tape. Whether a road is marked or not, Pellerin strongly advised drivers to avoid driving through flooded areas.
“I want to remind everyone that driving through a road that is washed over with water could be life threatening,” Pellerin said. “It is not what you see on top, it may be two inches of water on top, but the road could been gone beneath it.”
The Lincoln County News will continue following this story and post updates here as information becomes available.