The situation is improving along the St. John River as water levels continue to fall, but emergency officials say flooding season is far from over and warnings remain in place.
Sheffield resident Burt Mahoney has lived along the river for decades and has lost both a trailer and a home to flooding over the years. He has been watching the river’s retreat, but isn’t ready to declare flood season over just yet.
“Mother Nature could up and turn this into a real, kind of upset overnight, really, because if we happen to get a whole lot of rain and there’s still a lot of ice and stuff and maybe snow coming down through that watershed, so it could raise the waters here, it wouldn’t take very much for it to bring it over there,” says Mahoney.
Despite a decline in water levels, emergency officials say they are keeping a close eye on the St. John River.
“Things seem to be going the right way at this point,” says Paul Bradley of the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization.
“We’re still getting good weather, cool nights and everything, and levels are dropping, but we’re going to need that to sustain for a little while yet.”
New Brunswick’s public safety minister is also reminding those living close to waterways to remain vigilant.
“I’d also remind them that they are not out of the woods yet, as far as more possible flooding,” says Bruce Northrup. “We need everyone to remain on high alert and to plan for possible emergencies before they occur.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
