Heavy rain causes chaos, 2 NB communities are expected to reach the flood stage

Heavy rains and strong winds are cutting off power and destroying trees and branches in parts of southern New Brunswick.

As of Tuesday night, NB Power reported more than 4,000 power outages, about half of them in the Kennebekasis Valley in southwestern New Brunswick and about 1,000 outages in the Moncton area.

Roads in the Rothesay and Quispamsis areas were littered with large branches, and torrential rain and hail continued to flood the area.

Up to 60 millimeters of rain is expected before the storm subsides later Tuesday night, according to Environment Canada.

Heavy rains could deepen the flood season, which is already underway.

On Tuesday, the provincial emergency organization said it was shifting its focus from northern to southern New Brunswick.

EMO spokesman Jeffrey Downey said the St. John’s River in the Gagetown area is just above the flood stage, and neighboring Jamesseg is expected to hit the flood stage on Thursday.

Fredericton is also under a flood warning, but is not expected to reach a flood stage in the next five days.

Residents of these areas and others living near flood-prone areas have been asked to monitor the forecast and keep a 72-hour emergency kit ready.

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– @ NB_Power

Environment Canada issued rainfall warnings for the Fundy, Grand Manan, St. John, Sussex and St. Stephen areas on Tuesday, where more than 50 millimeters of rain is expected.

But the impact of the torrential rain may not be great, Downey said.

Northern New Brunswick is expected to receive only about 16 millimeters, and temperatures will continue to be below zero this week, he said. This means that the snow will not melt suddenly and cover the river banks further south.

“Temperatures are still very good in the north,” he said. “It goes up, you know, only 10 degrees or so and then it drops below zero at night. So that should keep melting at a relatively constant level.”

Downey also said that hitting the level of flooding does not automatically damage the floods. For example, Saint-Hilaire reached a flood stage over the weekend, but water levels returned below Tuesday’s flood level and no damage was done.

“It could mean [the water has] “We’ve just gotten to the edge of the property,” Downey said. “But we’re obviously still watching this very closely, because things can change.”