Post-tropical storm Lee causes flooded streets, downed trees in New Brunswick

Long before post-tropical storm Lee made landfall, its wrath was being felt across New Brunswick.

Those living in Fredericton may have been surprised at the intensity of the storm. The province's capital suffered a fair amount of damage early Saturday.

Motorists wait for a tree to be cleared that fell on Woodstock Road in Fredericton, N.B. during post-tropical storm Lee on Saturday, September 16, 2023. (Source: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray)

"It was quite windy outside, lots of rain ... a lot of flooding," said Kyle Leavitt, the director of New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization.

Heavy downpours caused significant flooding at times. The wake from passing vehicles drove water into basements around the city.

The Fredericton Fire Department has responded to more than 30 storm-related calls since 7 a.m.

"We've had about 50 trees be affected that we've had to respond to in the city, whether it's through our parks and trees division, or our fire crews," said chief Dwayne Killingbeck.

"We've had 22 events with fire crews responding to with power lines affected by trees either arching or trees knocking power lines down, but to this point there have been no injuries from that to our knowledge."

A downed tree across Woodstock Road in Fredericton in Fredericton, N.B. during post-tropical storm Lee on Saturday, September 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray

Killingbeck is urging people to stay home Saturday night, and said city cleanup crews are ready to tackle any messes Sunday morning.

Just outside Fredericton, Route 102 through Island View was closed due to a washout Saturday morning. An Irving Oil gas station in New Maryland sustained wind damage.

Elsewhere in the province, Leavitt said he hasn't heard of any significant damage to critical infrastructure in the Saint John area.

"I did have a report that came in that there was 80 kilometre per hour winds in the city at one point," said Leavitt.

"It took down some quite large trees."

Most areas in New Brunswick are seeing peak wind speeds between 60-80 kilometres per hour, however stronger winds are expected along the Fundy coastline where wind warnings were issued.

Total rainfall amounts are expected in the range of 50 to 120 millimetres.

"The problem with the ground being so saturated with water and then foliage being full on the trees, it creates a little bit of a problem for us, but gladly nobody's been hurt," Leavitt said.

Elevated water levels, large waves and rough surf have been occurring in the Bay of Fundy. High tide is expected around 10 p.m. however, Leavitt is optimistic over conditions.

"Obviously, we're talking about nature and we're talking about chance, who knows, but all indications right now indicates that we're not really going to have much of a problem."

As of 7:45 p.m. Saturday, more than 18,550 NB Power customers were without electricity. 

Click here for a photo gallery of the impact of post-tropical storm Lee in the Maritime provinces.