Flood threat ends in Sussex, recovery mode begins
Water levels peaked at 19.75 metres above sea level Friday, forcing 38 people from their homes
The flood threat in Sussex has ended and recovery efforts have begun, after a powerful rainstorm overnight Thursday caused flash flooding, washing out roads and forcing at least 38 people from their homes.
Water levels, which peaked at 19.75 metres above sea level at 2:40 a.m., are receding and the weather forecast poses no issues "for the foreseeable future," the town said in a statement late Friday afternoon.
Most of the people displaced when dozens of houses along the riverfront were evacuated around 1 a.m. have been allowed to return home to assess damage and begin cleanup and repairs.
The Canadian Red Cross said it will continue to support at least 13 people from eight residences with emergency lodging, meals and other basics throughout the weekend.
Creek Road near Sussex has been washed out, but road closures have dropped to just two — Mills Lane and a nearby section of MacLean Street.
The New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization has two inspection teams in the southern town, inspecting impacted properties, the town said.
A decision on whether the provincial government will offer a Disaster Financial Assistance program for flood damage related to the heavy rainfall will be made once a damage assessment is complete, said the Department of Public Safety.
Affected residents have until Feb. 8 to report any damage by calling 1-888-298-8555, or registering online.
Residents are urged to contact their insurance company, take photos of the damage to their homes or properties and keep receipts for any repairs and replacement purchases for any uninsurable losses. They should also log the hours they or their helpers put into cleaning up, the department said.
Rainfall ended shortly after midnight. As of 1:30 p.m., water levels had dropped to 18.26 metres above sea level and were "continuing to trend downwards," the town said.
Sussex Mayor Marc Thorne said town firefighters had to return to get some people on Thursday night because those residents did not leave earlier when they had the opportunity.
"It does make it difficult when people think they should stay in their home and then make a decision that they have to leave," Thorne said.
The town's emergency control group opened a shelter at Kingswood University on Thursday night. The shelter was closed on Friday morning.
Thorne is asking people to respect the street barricades.
Thorne said driving on a flooded street creates wakes that can cause further damage to homes and property, and it affects how much water gets into a home.
"I was amazed [at 2 a.m. on Friday] the amount of traffic we had on the streets," Thorne said.
My whole street was completely a river, right up to my doorstep.- Patti Hay, Sussex resident
Thorne said clogged gutters contributed to pooling in low-lying areas, even though crews have been working the past 24 hours to clear as many as they could.
"Just like most places In the Maritimes and New Brunswick, we were absolutely saturated with water," he said.
Thorne said he was happy with the work of the town's emergency control group and community partners who assisted with evacuations and cleanup throughout the night.
"We have a lot of great people working hard and I'm grateful for that."
Atlantic Canadian Red Cross spokesperson Dan Bedell said a team was being deployed to Sussex to assist affected residents.
Sussex resident Patti Hay stayed in her home with three of her four children during the flood.
Hay lives about 7.5 metres from Trout Creek and watched the water rise all night. Luckily, she said, no water got into her home.
"My whole street was completely a river, right up to my doorstep," Hay said.
Some houses on the streets behind hers have hoses hanging out of windows to drain basements, she said.
Hay said the town's updates on social media over the course of the flooding kept "everybody informed and [helped] everyone feel safe."
"I don't think they could have done any better in the circumstances."
Krystal McCourt also decided to stay in her house, which sits up on slight hill. Because of that, she has only a few inches of water in her basement, while some of her neighbours have several feet.
"It was up to the vehicles here and up to the deck in the back and it was right up into these peoples windows," McCourt said.
McCourt said the water moved huge chunks of ice down her street and into people's driveways.
Andrew Chrysostom stayed in his home too, but said that Thursday night "wasn't his first rodeo."
He said by the time the firefighters came to his house the water was too high for them to get out in their small cars, so they hunkered down.
"We got a one-and-a-half-year-old sleeping and you don't wake a sleeping baby," Chrysostom said.
His vehicles suffered water damage and there are a couple of feet of water in his basement.
Despite those challenges, Chrysostom said he wasn't too worried.
"The house wasn't going to float away, the cars didn't float away last time, didn't float away this time," he said.
In Midland, an outlying community of Sussex, water and ice chunks are covering some roads.
Ruth Parlee, a resident of the small community, said her house is surrounded by "a huge skating rink."
Parlee's house is on top of a hill, and her long steep driveway was covered with slick ice Friday morning.
Her husband attempted to go down the driveway in the morning and almost slid into the road.
"He ran into the cedar garbage can so that kind of stopped him, which is probably a little bit of a good thing because when there's traffic coming, we kind of live on a little bit of a curb and you can't see," Parlee said.
While schools were closed Friday in Sussex, her daughter's school was open, and she had an exam.
"At the time I couldn't confirm that there wouldn't be consequences if she missed her exam," Parlee said.
Luckily, a friend was able to pick up her daughter at the bottom of the driveway and drop her off.
Parlee said she only lives eight minutes from the school, but said there were at least two flooded spots between her house and the school that were closed off Thursday night and opened early Friday morning.
"Even though you can get through you have no idea what the structure of the road might be like underneath," she said.
The New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization's involvement has been minimal, said spokesperson Geoffrey Downey.
"It's all being handled at the municipal level, which is a good sign. It means they're prepared, their training is kicking in, they know what to do," he said.
In Moncton, eight people were forced to flee an apartment building after powerful winds tore away part of the roof. The Canadian Red Cross has provided emergency lodging and meals for several days. There were no injuries reported from the roof damage.
With files from Jennifer Sweet, Shane Fowler, Information Morning Saint John, Moncton