The river flows on it's own accord. We are in the middle of an emergency flooding, with expectation that the levels may even surpass the record high from 1973! With the rain from last night and the melting snow up in Northern New Brunswick, our river is swelling and spilling over fast. It's supposed to rise to a total of more than 8 metres expected sometime on Friday. If this happens, the downtown streets will become part of the river. There will be many millions of dollars in damage.
The media is swarming the place and there was a buzzing feeling downtown all day.......business owners, all levels of government, homeowners began bracing for the worst......emergency planning is in place........ Max and I went out and took some pics around dinner time. We found our trusty Mayor Brad Woodside being interviewed by CTV along the shore behind the Delta Hotel. Mayor Brad once had a riverboat which he ran in the summers as a touristy attraction. I think we could use that boat now, right your Worship? 
I've included a few "Then and Now" pics to give you some perspective.......
The above photo was taken a week or so ago......below was tonight. By tomorrow, the whole parking lot will be flooded. They are expecting the water to spill out onto the downtown streets. My office has been evacuated as have many other buildings including the Legislature. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery and Hotel right next to this spot are already suffering from water damage. Power was cut in the government buildings at 7 pm tonight and the emergency fan out plan is in place.......people involved are on alert for massive evacuations etc. 
I took the above photo in early March when the snow was deep......as you can see by the park bench! The walking bridge in the background? Check out the struts underneath.....with the flood waters rising, there is much less space between the river and the bridge. I was told tonight that the road on the other side of this walking bridge is closed.....and debris from a tire business is floating downriver.......
I took the above photo at the beginning of April when the snow was melting quickly. I love the reflection of the tree in the still water. The picture below was taken last weekend. No island....no tree trunks...no silouettes. I'll check out the same view tomorrow to see if these little trees are now completely submerged.
This is the entrance to the lighthouse, situated behind my old office building.
There were lots of onlookers out and about this evening. I captured this young ballplayer relaxing on a park bench which is located ON A HILL overlooking the baseball diamond. In the background is what is left of the back stop protecting homeplate. Looks like there will be no soccer or baseball on "the Green" for a bit. Canoeing has taken over.....
ps. My home is safely ensconced on a hill..........we are fine, and may be hosts to some friends who live in the downtown core.
Anne? Heather? You out there? If you guys end up having to bail out, there will be lobster and some of that "crazy cat" wine waiting for you....and you know the music here will always be excellent! Life can always be turned into a theme party can't it?
11 comments:
So Queen Street is not under water yet?
This is astounding! The pictures really say it all! And the fact that it can and might definiteky get worse....Well, it's pretty scary. So glad you are up on a hill, my dear!
WOW nature is cruel and beautiful I hope you stay high and dry my friend xx
and no credit to MOI...MOI...MOI....???
:p
Keep safe and dry on that there hill Dana and keep the wine chilled. Something tells me there is going to be a party soon enough.
hi everyone! It's a bit surreal. I'm about 10 minutes from downtown, a bit out of the city and upriver. The damage is happening in the downtown core and the other side of the city in the valley where the farmland hugs the river......it's all covered in water now. However, where i am? From my vantage, the river is very wide but no flooding will touch this area....it is over the walking trail which used to be the CN Railway tracks.
Will post more photos throughout the day...... and will go check out the dam which is situated upriver from me.
This isn't the worst of it yet I dont think.
Canuckguy? It's partially underwater....it will get worse. Lobster traps are set! :)
Charles?? Will be in touch with dam photos. I will put a link on my blog to your photos because they are amazing!
Oh my gosh, that's awful. I had no idea! I hope you stay safe and sound.
Wow that doesn't look good. My heart goes out to the people who might get flooded. We had to evacuate once in Holland the rivers were overflown as well and the dike nearly broke. We were lucky though we could return after a week.
Hope the water levels are dropping. stay safe!
Nice pics btw.
Claudia...thanks! yeah, it's news on a national level here, but wouldn't be heard beyond that i wouldn't think. You may have heard about the flooding in Maine which is connected to this one. Fort Kent Maine got nailed!!!
Flooding is pretty common here in the spring, but this one does have more severity.....lots of snow and ice up river/north and its gotta melt and go somewhere.
personally, my family is fine....i have friends and co-workers who are most definately affected...a few have had to abandon ship so to speak....evacuate their homes. But we did have lots of warning....it was predictable to a large extent. Emergency measures etc was up and running ... all prepared.
Don't know when I'll be able to return to my office..... :)
Marja....there was a damn that may have broken in northern state of Maine...or nearly....the water was rushing so fast that it was going over the top. Major flooding there too....lots of evacuations.
nbt...thank you....levels are subsiding they say, but rising downriver. thank you for the link. really appreciate it.
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