The 2024 Portland flood was caused by heavy rainfall, an astronomical high tide, and high winds in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. It occurred, across coastal central

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, on January 13, 2024, causing severe flooding, especially in Portland's Old Port district and around Back Cove. The storm followed another one, three days earlier, which also occurred during high tide.

Flood measurements

During the storm, of rain fell during the morning, and winds, combined with a record-breaking high tide, resulted in waves of to . At

mean lower low water A chart datum is the water surface serving as origin (or coordinate surface) of depths displayed on a nautical chart and for reporting and predicting tide heights. A chart datum is generally derived from some tidal phase, in which case it is ...

(MLLW), a record-high tide level of was measured, surpassing the previous high of from 1978.

Properties impacted

Portland Pier was submerged, by water from the Fore River, which is a regular occurrence for that pier. The pier floods with any tide or higher. Water also breached Commercial Street at Chandler's Wharf, and

Maine State Pier The Maine State Pier is a municipal-owned deepwater marine facility and music venue located at the intersection of Commercial Street (Portland, Maine), Commercial Street and Franklin Street (Portland, Maine), Franklin Street on the eastern waterf ...

, which was completely submerged. DiMillo's Floating Restaurant suffered damage to its pilings, hinges broke off a platform, and the buildings on its pier flooded. The deck of Becky's Diner was flooded, and flood waters surrounded the restaurant's building on two sides.

References

{{Portal bar, Maine, Weather, Water 2024 floods in the United States January 2024 in the United States History of Portland, Maine Natural disasters in Maine 2024 in Maine 21st century in Portland, Maine