CASCO, Maine — Multiple agencies responded Wednesday morning to aid people from Naples and Casco living along the Crooked River, whose flooding prompted emergency evacuations.
"PLEASE EVACUATE IF YOU LIVE ALONG THE RIVER IN CASCO OR NAPLES!" Casco Fire-Rescue suggested in a social media post Wednesday morning.
Windham Fire and Rescue said Wednesday morning in a post on Facebook that they would be assisting Naples and Casco, again urging "extreme caution" near waterways and encouraging people who are at risk to evacuate to a safe area.
Casco Fire-Rescue wrote in a Facebook post that the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center received two 911 calls from residents along the Crooked River on Wednesday morning requesting assistance in evacuating their homes due to the flooding.
"Residents reported approximately 3-4 feet of water at their homes following heavy rains on Monday," the post stated. "Ultimately, Casco and Naples responders assisted in the successful evacuation of 9 individuals from homes along the Crooked River."
Casco Fire-Rescue added that no injuries were reported and that no mandatory evacuation order "was ever given by any responding agency," only recommended.
The fire department reported among those rescued were two parents and their toddler, along with two seniors.
For residents living in Casco and Naples, the flooding came quickly.
"Nothing you can do, it's mother nature," Tim Watts, whose basement was a couple inches away from being flooded. "Gotta deal with it, it's river life, life on the river."
Watts spent the evening bringing his jet ski and dock out of the water. His trailer, car, and a four-wheeler were all too far and too deep to reach.
"It'll take a few days once the water goes down," Watts said.
Down the road off Dragon Back Road, his neighbor Terry Gould, moved into his new home just three days ago.
"It was raining hard on Sunday night so I knew it would be 48 to 72 hours before the river rose, and here we are," Gould said. "It was dark, and it was pretty unsettling.
But despite the water rescues and the power outages, neighbors like Watts and Gould were in good spirits.
"It's life on the river, it's what you do. It gives and it takes, and you have to have thick skin to live here," Gould said.
As of Wednesday, water levels on the Crooked River appeared to be subsiding. The response and evacuation of occupants was completed with the assistance of the Bridgton Fire Department using their Airboat.
Officials will continue to monitor the situation.
Maine Emergency Management Agency has published several preparedness links on their social media outlets and urged everyone to stay safe and be prepared.
Casco is not the only area of the state experiencing flooding issues in the wake of Monday's storm.
Massive washouts and flooding also led to widespread closures in central and western Maine.
The U.S. Geological Survey said in a report that preliminary data suggested the ongoing flooding across Maine is "likely the second worst in the state's recorded history."
The USGS said efforts would continue to assess the extent of the flooding and provide timely reporting to emergency management services to protect people and properties.
Search efforts are continuing for one person who was traveling in a vehicle that was swept away by floodwaters Monday evening off Route 2 in Mexico.
Four people were inside the vehicle while they were about to cross over the Red Bridge into Rumford. However, while the driver reportedly was trying to turn around, the "vehicle got swept into rising flood waters of the Swift River" just before 5 p.m., Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said Tuesday in a news release.
Two people were able to get to safety, but two others were missing until one was found dead inside the vehicle on Wednesday, Mexico Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day told NEWS CENTER Maine. The other person remains missing.
Mexico police, the Maine Warden Service, and the Maine State Police are working together in the search and investigation.
Emergency officials in Franklin County warned people in the Farmington area Monday night against traveling for the time being due to flooding.
The Farmington Fire Department told NEWS CENTER Maine all roads in the area are closed as of 8 p.m. Monday, with floodwaters expected to continue rising until 2 a.m. Tuesday and take a while to subside.
Residents are being encouraged to stay put as the town is "essentially completely flooded and isolated," according to the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency.
Multiple cities and towns located along the Androscoggin River have posted evacuation notices Tuesday as floodwaters continue to rise.
The city of Lewiston has issued a flood evacuation order for low-lying parts of the community located near the river.
The order came following a powerful storm that brought high winds, heavy rains, and warming temperatures that combined caused substantial snow melts. This led to historic high levels in many of the state's rivers, as well as flooding and washouts across much of Maine.
The city asked that people evacuate no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday until noon Wednesday.