enlarge Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

A Kennebunk firefighter directs water over a house that was burned as part of a training exercise last weekend. The burn marked the start of a transformation of the Intervale Road neighborhood in Kennebunk, which was flooded by the Mousam River two years in a row.

enlarge File photo

BEFORE: A year ago, the pounding surf whipped up by the Patriots Day nor’easter heavily damaged some houses and washed out Surf Street in Saco.

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A motorist navigates deep water in Portland during the Patriots Day storm. He made it out safely, but three other people died in the storm, including a Lebanon woman and her granddaughter.

enlarge Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

AFTER: A photo taken Tuesday shows a rebuilt sea wall and pylons, left, that have been installed to support houses replacing the ones that collapsed in the storm surge.

See more slideshows from last year's storm:

The storm hits

Assessing the damage

In the storm's wake

Coastal flooding

Cleanup continues

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STORM ASSISTANCE

State officials estimate last year's Patriots Day storm did $45 million in damage. To date, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced the following aid:

$24.6 million for 1,792 projects in 13 counties; $2 million for individuals and households; 2,747 homeowners and renters registered for assistance.

Source: FEMA

A year after the Patriots Day storm, its effects are still evident.

At Ferry Beach in Saco, houses under repair are up on jacks, and many others are still missing siding and shingles. In Kennebunk, the local power station hasn't been able to start a turbine that was damaged when 4 feet of water flooded the control house, submerging the electronics.

In the Intervale Road neighborhood of Kennebunk, which was severely flooded twice in two years, three homes purchased by the town are in the process of being razed. Just last weekend, the fire department burned one in a training exercise.

In Scarborough, town officials are still deciding how to fix a damaged 30-year-old sea wall.

"I don't think it's really over. I think people are still devastated by it," said Jan Eastman, manager of the Camp Ellis General Store, just down the road from where two houses were destroyed by the pounding waves of the Patriots Day nor'easter.

"People come in and say there's still so much work to do, so many things to fix," said Eastman, who was stocking the shelves in anticipation of opening the store for the season this Friday.

The Patriots Day nor'easter, considered the worst storm to hit Maine since the Ice Storm of 1998, claimed three lives, including a Lebanon woman and her 4-year-old granddaughter who were swept away while trying to cross a flooded road. The rain started falling on April 15, and built to a fury the next day when hard rain, high winds and raging seas toppled trees, swamped coastal and riverfront properties and caused about 123,000 power outages.

In the end, the storm caused an estimated $45 million in damage -- $31.5 million to roads alone.

One of the most dramatic images from the storm: the Mousam River unexpectedly flooding the small Intervale Road neighborhood in Kennebunk for the second time in two years, despite no flooding problems in the past.

Town officials received $1.1 million in federal grant money to purchase and demolish three Intervale homes and elevate nine others to avoid future flooding. But residents in the small tucked-away neighborhood are still wary of the river that runs along their street.

"Every time we hear rain, we're cringing," said Lori Lussard, who had water up to the floor joists. "We keep an eye on the dam here in town and we keep a much closer watch on the rain now. (The storm) was a real shock to me."

In about two months, Lussard's home will be the first to be elevated, she said.

Thirteen counties qualified for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and 2,747 homeowners and renters registered for aid, officials said. To date, FEMA has approved $24.6 million in aid, with the state providing another 25 percent -- $6.1 million -- in matching funds. The Small Business Administration has approved $3.6 million in low-interest loans to 148 homeowners, renters and business owners.

Many disaster aid projects are under way or completed, but disputes among federal, state and local agencies over environmental or historic concerns have held up funding for a handful of repairs, said Ron Loomen, who helps coordinate FEMA disaster aid for the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

"We just have a few projects left because there are some discrepancies," Loomen said. He said the following issues should be resolved by the end of the month:

At Camp Ellis, a plan to restore the dunes has been delayed because state environmental officials want to specify how the restoration should take place.

In Alfred, state historical society officials are getting involved in a project to repair a bridge with historical interest.

In Kennebunk, state environmental and local officials are working out the standards by which Gooches Beach will be repaired.

In York, repairs to the 128-year-old Nubble Lighhouse, a national landmark, have been delayed over a question from federal officials about...