Land Unstable After Landslide Blocks River, Causes Emergency in Maine City

A state of emergency remained in effect Thursday in the city of Westbrook, Maine, where workers have been assessing landslides that blocked the Presumpscot River.

Westbrook Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte said Thursday that the immediate threat of flooding subsided, but the ground remains unstable.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch and the mayor declared a state of emergency when the river was blocked Wednesday. But some water began moving through the area later in the day.

A geological expert who surveyed the site says geological conditions there are ripe for a landslide. The clay can liquefy and flow, which caused the landslide, said Lindsay Spigel of the Maine Geological Survey said.