The St. John River continues to rise in the Fredericton area, but the province’s Emergency Measures Organization says it looks to be slowing down.
Spokesperson Geoffrey Downey says the river hit 8.2 metres on Saturday, which is 1.7 metres above flood stage.
It’s expected to climb to 8.3 metres on Sunday before dropping to 8.2 metres on Monday.
“We’re hoping that it’s stabilizing and will soon start to recede,” Downey told us early Saturday afternoon.
Water levels will continue to climb further downriver, including in the Quispamsis-Saint John area, where the river is expected surpass flood stage by 20 centimetres on Monday.
There’s also some rain in the forecast for Monday and Monday night, but Downey says they don’t expect it will have much of an impact on water levels.
You can see the flood level two-day forecast for the upper part of the St. John River by clicking here, and for the lower part of the St. John River by clicking here.
As the St. John River continues to rise, so too does the number of flood-related road closures.
RIVER WATCH UPDATE: All regions along the St. John River basin are at risk of flooding. Details: https://t.co/gzhxoeYdj1
— NB-EMO / OMU-NB (@NBEMO_OMUNB) April 28, 2018
Downey says they’ve received several reports of people driving around barricades and onto flooded roads.
“We’ve also had reports of people moving barricades,” he says. “People who are moving barricades and going down roads are not only putting themselves in danger but they’re also putting other people in danger.”
There’ve been no mandatory evacuations so far, but Canadian Red Cross volunteers helped to evacuate 10 homes on Friday night.
New Brunswick residents displaced due to flood water who do not have access to temporary accommodations can contact us at 1-800-863-6582 #Flood2018 #Fredericton #NB https://t.co/Bf0ewVFCaH
— Canadian Red Cross (@redcrosscanada) April 28, 2018
On Saturday, the province announced that residents who have experienced flood-related damage can now report it by phone or online.
