Water levels expected to reach flood stage Wednesday in Gagetown, Fredericton

New Brunswick’s River Watch is predicting water will reach flood levels for several communities in the province this week.

The community of Gagetown, N.B., now enveloped in the municipality called Village of Arcadia, and the city of Fredericton are expected to hit flood stage Wednesday, according to the River Watch data.

“The forecast is certainly calling for a bit of a change,” said NB Emergency Measure’s Organization spokesperson Geoffrey Downey.

“They’re calling for seven meters in Fredericton for two days, and dropping off thereafter,” said Downey.

Jemseg, N.B., is set to hit flood levels on Friday, according to River Watch.

Unpredictable ice jams along the Saint John River are making it difficult to determine the likeliness of some communities flooding.

“We’re not expecting any impacts at this time,” Downey said.

“But the forecast can change, and thus the river forecast as well,” he added.

River Watch is updated daily and throughout the day as necessary.

“As long as you have snow, high temperatures and the potential for rain every community should be watching this,” Downey said.

While for some communities the freshet is a  rinse and repeat situation, the Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) warns residents to be careful.

“Complacency really becomes the problem, where people aren’t expecting the waters to come and they’re caught off guard,” Downey said.