'It gets emotional': Homeowners cleanup after flooding caused by post-tropical storm Lee

Homeowners in the Fredericton-area are still cleaning up after post-tropical storm Lee caused severe flooding for some in New Brunswick’s capital.

Pat Septon spent Tuesday working on his Hanwell, N.B., home. Water came rushing into the basement around 6 p.m. Saturday.

"The water started rising, but it started rising fast," said Septon.

Septon says he was told it would take a once-in-a-hundred-year flood for the stream from the culverts to reach his home – Lee was that incident.

"We had 112 millimetres of rain,” said Septon.

“It's just mathematically impossible for two eight-foots to feed a three-and-a-half-foot and not see some ramifications.”

Septon’s basement is now torn down to the studs.

"We negotiated our insurance nearly six years ago. We weren't really prepared for what inflation would have done since,” said Septon.

“If I could advise anybody out there to go back and look at their insurance that they check since inflation, since COVID, that you have adequate coverage.”

Currently, Septon is waiting for contractors to line up dates to fix his home and says he was told it could be a long wait.

"It gets emotional when you think of it,” Septon said.

“All our stuff out for everybody to see and the work that goes into it.”

The city of Fredericton has made arrangements to help people cleaning up the exterior of their homes following the windy weather.

"This Saturday, September 23rd, what we're telling residents is that they should have branches and twigs and bagged leaves out to the curb by 7 a.m. that morning and they'll be picked up,” said Wayne Knorr, manager of communications for the City of Fredericton.

As for other storm damage in the region, Route 102 remains closed in both directions at Island View following damage to a culvert during post-tropical storm Lee.

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is still in the process of determining the duration of the closure.

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