As floodwaters rose, hundreds came out to build a 'wall of hope' around this New Brunswick home

As water in the Kennebecasis River rose, so too did the "wall of hope" around Sharon Murphy-Mayne's home.

Earlier this week, the Rothesay, N.B., homeowner began constructing a sandbag barrier surrounding her riverside home to keep flood waters out. But about 2,500 bags in, she realized she needed help.

So, she put a call out to her community and they turned out in spades, she said.

"We've had hundreds of people that have chipped in," Murphy-Mayne told Checkup host Duncan McCue. "We've built this wonderful berm that has actually saved our house in the face of the head-on Kennebecasis River."

New Brunswick is facing its worst flood in nearly half a century with the greater Saint John area — including Rothesay — hardest hit. Flood waters in the region aren't expected to peak until Tuesday and will take days to recede.

Thousands are without power and more than 1,000 people have been forced from their homes The coast guard is on standby to provide relief.

"We just looked at the tides and we've got a super high tide on Tuesday, so this is not over for people," Murphy-Mayne said.

Sand-based insurance policy

The wall surrounding Murphy-Mayne's home provides some relief, however.

"It's an engineering marvel as far as I'm concerned," she said. The wall stands taller than her — an average-height woman — and is made entirely of sandbags. In a video posted Saturday, waves crashed against the structure.

"Our house is completely saved even though we're jutted out of an old wharf from the 1800s in the middle of the river," she said.

After spending "thousands" of dollars on the sand and bags, the wall serves as an insurance policy for her home.

When her home was damaged in a 2004 flood, then again inundated with water in 2008, Murphy-Mayne said she lost her coverage.

They were on their own, but didn't think it would happen again.

"As it turned out, obviously not," she said.

Scouts 'worked their hardest'

After Murphy-Mayne put a call out on social media, she said hundreds of people turned out to help build the berm. She estimates another 2,500 sandbags were packed and stacked by community helpers — many of them kids.

Young volunteers filled the bags and adult volunteers hauled them down to the water's edge. Among the kids were traditional scouts from the 1st Kennebecasis Valley BPSA.

"For me, it's been really, really heartening seeing how many youth have been involved in the efforts, right from ... six years old, right up to teenagers," said caller Paul Crowdis, the group's leader. "Never a complaint, and they worked their hardest."

Some of the scouts helped shovel sand during the week after school, then again throughout the weekend, he said. Their work won't end once the water peaks, though. They scouts are gearing up to help after the flood line recedes.

"I'm hearing that [residents are] going to need help getting the sandbags back out of those areas," he said.

'A wall of resilience'​

While Murphy-Mayne hopes that New Brunswick won't have to deal with flooding this severe again, she's already making plans for the next time the water rises.

She's considering ways to make the "monstrous" berm permanent. "Somehow landscaping it in," she said.

In the meantime, she is confident her home will stay dry.

"Luckily, for our berm .... which is actually a wall of resilience that reflects the spirit of the people in this area that's for sure, this wall is going to hold."