Current:Home > MarketsThis photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks -Wealth Empowerment Zone
This photo shows the moment Maine’s record high tide washed away more than 100-year-old fishing shacks
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:14:58
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! (38)
Related
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Kenya cult death toll rises to 200; more than 600 reported missing
- FBI says it 'hacked the hackers' to shut down major ransomware group
- EVs are expensive. These city commuters ditched cars altogether — for e-bikes
- Man charged with murder in death of beloved Detroit-area neurosurgeon
- A sci-fi magazine has cut off submissions after a flood of AI-generated stories
- The Real Reason Teresa Giudice Didn't Invite Melissa Gorga's Family to Her Wedding
- You'll Love the To All the Boys I've Loved Before Spinoff XO, Kitty in This First Look
- Jamaica's Kishane Thompson more motivated after thrilling 100m finish against Noah Lyles
- Swedish duo Loreen win Eurovision in second contest clouded by war in Ukraine
Ranking
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- See the Vanderpump Rules Cast Arrive to Season 10 Reunion Amid Scandoval
- Stylist Law Roach Reveals the Scariest Part of His Retirement Journey
- Katy Perry Gets Called Out By American Idol Contestant For Mom Shaming
- Clay Aiken's son Parker, 15, makes his TV debut, looks like his father's twin
- This Blurring Powder Foundation Covers My Pores & Redness in Seconds— It's Also Currently on Sale
- Pet Parents Swear By These 15 Problem-Solving Products From Amazon
- John Shing-wan Leung, American citizen, sentenced to life in prison in China
Recommendation
Kourtney Kardashian Cradles 9-Month-Old Son Rocky in New Photo
A new AI-powered TikTok filter is sparking concern
When Tom Sandoval Really Told Tom Schwartz About Raquel Leviss Affair
Gisele Bündchen Recalls Challenging Time of Learning Tom Brady Had Fathered Child With Bridget Moynahan
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
Transcript: Laredo, Texas, Mayor Victor Trevino on Face the Nation, May 14, 2023
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says we don't attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory
Popular global TikToks of 2022: Bad Bunny leads the fluffle!