More roads were shut down in New Brunswick Thursday as water levels rose across the province.
Fredericton hit flood stage Thursday and the water is expected to rise over the next 24 hours.
Water entered the lower level of Christina Judge’s home last week; she and her children haven’t been able to stay at home since then.
Judge and many of her neighbours spent Thursday pumping water out of their homes as more rain fell on the already-saturated ground.
“I know I’m not going to lose any more of my stuff because it’s all upstairs,” says Judge. “I damaged my car having to go through the water.”
The St. John River is creeping closer to properties along its banks, including a hotel in downtown Fredericton. Staff began gathering sandbags last week in preparation for a flood.
“We were closed for a period in 2008. That being said, we don’t anticipate to be closed at any point this year,” says hotel manager Geoff Gallant. “We’ve taken the necessary steps to make sure we’re very prepared.”
So far, riverside trails and parks are the only parts of Fredericton under water, but that is having an impact on the Fredericton Marathon.
Marathon organizers revealed changes to their course on Thursday. The marathon is still more than two weeks away, but organizers worry parts of the original course will still be under water at that time.
Sean Dunbar is renovating a heritage building to make way for a brewery. He is doing what he can to reduce the effects of future flooding.
“We decided instead, I won’t say to welcome the river to come in, but to expect the river to come in once and a while, perhaps every year, and we’ll build the interior of the brewery to sort of let the water come in, not damage anything, go back out, do a little bit of cleanup, and continue on,” says Dunbar.
The flood stage level in Fredericton is 6.5 metres. Water levels are expected to hit 7 metres in Fredericton on Friday, before receding below flood stage on Sunday.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore
