Hundreds flee Maine floods

Officials sighed with relief that water did not spill over a levee. Also, the International Bridge that connects Maine and Canada held up, despite fears that the raging waters could drag it down, choking the fast-moving river and sending more water into the town.

"If the bridge had let go, that would've been the end for Fort Kent. The whole town would've washed out," Police Chief Kenneth Michaud said Thursday. No one was hurt, he said.

Officials continued to keep an eye on other rivers under flood warnings in northern Maine, but there was no indication of any significant rises elsewhere.

Michael Fitzsimmons, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine, said the water level at the St. John's River was 29.6 feet at 4 a.m. Thursday, down from a peak of 30.14 feet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Scientists described the flooding for the community of 4,200 people in Fort Kent as "greater than a 100-year event," said Lynette Miller, a spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

Across the river in Canada, officials issued warnings to residents in low-lying areas around Fredericton, New Brunswick, about 200 miles from Fort Kent. Up to 1,300 homes there were threatened by rising water.