Flood warnings have also been issued across the river in Canada.
The St. John and Fish rivers reached record levels and at least 600 people have been evacuated.
The Maine Warden Service is working alongside the Washburn Fire Department and the Washburn Police Department to evacuate people down stream from two dams that are in danger of breaching.
A plugged culvert on an earthen dam, known in town as the upper dam, is forcing water over the dam, according to Warden Sgt. Tom Ward. About one-third of the dam is breached and there is concern the rest of the dam may give way thus impacting a 15-foot cement dam down stream. Cracks are appearing in the cement dam.
“There’s a good chance the earthen dam is going to breach, and if it breaches there’s a good chance the lower dam is going to breach,” Sgt. Tom Ward said.
Flash flood warnings for Washburn have been issued by the National Weather Service in Caribou.
Scientists described the flooding for the community of 4,200 people in Fort Kent as "greater than a 100-year event," said Lynette Miller, another agency spokeswoman.
Across the river in Canada, warnings were being issued to residents in low-lying areas around Fredericton, New Brunswick, about 200 miles from Fort Kent. Up to 1,300 homes were threatened by rising water.
The river, the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi, totals about 410 miles in length, with 210 of those miles in Maine. It starts in Maine, forms the border with Canada at one section and continues on through New Brunswick to the ocean.
No major injuries have been reported and The American Red Cross opened a shelter in the University of Maine's Sports Center in Fort Kent.
According to the Maine Emergency Management Agency, there are four bridges that are closed due to flood damage. They are the International Bridge in Fort Kent, Fish Bridge in Fort Kent, International Bridge in Van Buren and Tucker Bridge in Moro Plantation. These bridges will remain closed until they are inspected by MaineDOT engineers. Engineers need to wait for the waters to recede before they can inspect underwater bridge support systems, as well as the understories of these bridges.
MaineDOT reports 45 roads across the state affected or closed.
The MEMA also has a safety advisory with some tips that people should be aware of and their fact sheet can be found here.
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