ST. STEPHEN, N.B. — The New Brunswick government promised financial assistance Wednesday for people whose homes and businesses were swamped by floods after days of rain caused rivers to breach their banks.
Premier David Alward saw first-hand some of the damage caused in the area of St. Stephen, a town of about 5,000 that borders Maine. Some roads were washed out and rushing water gouged a deep ravine between a house and a two-car garage.
“It’s incredible,” Alward said as he exited a helicopter after an aerial tour of the region. “It’s certainly devastating for individuals and communities.”
Alward said he spoke with Keith Ashfield, the federal cabinet representative for New Brunswick, about the possibility of financial relief.
“We’ll be moving as a province and working with the federal government on joint support,” Alward said.
“It’s too early to know the specifics of it. It’s still very much a happening situation, but we’ll move as quickly as we can.”
Richard MacKay spent Wednesday assessing the damage at his stationery store, where the high water mark on the walls and shelves was nearly a metre high.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to get everything up to clear that area, so we’re going to have a substantial loss to our inventory,” he said.
“That’s going to be the hard part.”
Temperatures in some regions fell below the freezing mark — a change in weather that a spokesman for New Brunswick’s Emergency Measures Organization said was a mixed blessing.
“It’s good for us because it’s going to slow the progress of the water . . . through the tributaries and the small streams and hence into the St. John (River),” Karl Wilmot said.
“The other situation for homeowners is that it’s going to cause a problem . . . . If you’ve got a wet basement or the house is flooded on the first floor, it’s just going to increase the damage.”
The St. John River began spilling over its banks in some low-lying areas Tuesday after heavy rain. The rising waters submerged some sports fields and parking lots in Fredericton.
Elsewhere in the capital city, the Nashwaak River overflowed. And at least 40 people were evacuated from several dozen homes north of the city due to flooding caused by rainfall in communities including Burtts Corner and Nashwaak Bridge.
In the southwestern region of the province, the Red Cross reported a dramatic overnight rescue on the flood-swollen Magaguadavic River. A couple drove into trouble around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when they failed to realize that a portion of Route 770 near Bonny River, N.B., had washed away.
Water rushing across the road swept their car into the river and it began to sink.
The incident was noticed by people at the nearby fire hall who heard cries for help and quickly moved to assist the couple who ended up standing on the roof of their car.
A boat was quickly launched and the couple were eventually pulled to safety by two men.
A toll-free hotline (1-888-298-8555) has been set up for New Brunswickers to call for assistance.
Flooding also affected parts of Nova Scotia, where utility crews worked to restore power to as many as 16,000 customers.
The vast majority of the outages occurred in the Annapolis Valley, where sustained wind gusts had caused extensive damage to some buildings, roads and power poles.
In Cape Breton, the Cabot Trail between Margaree Forks and Northeast Margaree was closed due to severe flooding. Road closures were also reported throughout the area.