Wooden piers, key to Maine's fishing and tourist economies on the coast, keep getting hammered by winter storms

 

Debris litters the deck of a large wooden pier in Southwest Harbor that was severely damaged in storms that caused coastal flooding in January.

The map below shows where wooden piers and floating docks have been damaged in multiple winter storms between December 2023 and March 2024. Most of the damage occurred during twin storms on Jan. 10 and Jan. 13. In all storms, high winds, heavy seas and unusually high tides worked together to flood low-lying waterfront infrastructure. The overall damage to Maine's coast, which includes shorefront roads and private homes (which are not specifically labeled on this map). The cost of the overall damage from the December and January storms is estimated to be $90 million.