PORTLAND, Maine — A combination of snowmelt, heavy rain, storm surge and a high tide combined to put some city streets and wharves underwater Wednesday morning.
Two days ago, Portland received more than a foot of snow. Then Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the city then got more than two inches of rain. Casco Bay saw a more than 10-foot high tide around 9:30 a.m.
The floodwaters stranded motorists and cut a condominium complex off from the mainland while setting dumpsters, lumber and other debris adrift.
“Don’t go in there, it might be electrified,” shouted a Portland firefighter at the edge of the flooded Portland Pier, just off Commercial Street.
Earlier, the rising tide had shorted out a street light, sending out a shower of sparks and arcing electricity.
Nearby, J’s Oyster Bar sat surrounded by water, sandbags protecting its front door. To the east, a popular spot for quaint photographs, known as The Alley, along the backside of Customs House Wharf, was overrun by slopping ocean waves. A dumpster floated freely and threatened to head out to sea.
Along the front side of the wharf, a group of rubber-booted people stood on the porch at Harbor Fish Market, surveying the damage and a raft of floating pallets.
To the west, rising tidewaters cut the Chandler’s Wharf condominiums off from the rest of Portland. One car, which tried to make the crossing through several feet of water, stalled out and had to be towed to safety by a truck with a winch.
While people at the condos watched from afar, a man who gave his name only as Steve waded through the hip-deep waters, picking out valuable pressure treated lumber. Nearby, a plastic bag of newspapers with “Chandler’s Wharf” written on it in red marker, bobbed in the floodwater.
On the other side of town, in the Bayside neighborhood, water surged out of storm drains near Whole Foods Market on Somerset Street. The area, built on fill in the 19th century, is sometimes lower than the high tide mark in nearby Back Cove during heavy rains, causing the drains to work in reverse.
The incoming water flooded the intersection at Franklin Street, where two cars stalled trying to make the crossing. A Portland police officer stood nearby while one of the motorists thumbed his phone. Another driver waded away from her minivan, coffee in hand.
By 10 a.m. the rain was over, the sun was coming out and the high tide began to recede.