Saint John Floodwaters Should Peak Friday

Saint John EMO is still urging people living in voluntary evacuation areas to leave their homes.

Nearly 50 of the roughly 600 people who live in flood-prone areas had registered with the Canadian Red Cross as of Thursday morning.

Mike Carr, manager of Saint John EMO, says police, fire, and the military have conducted nearly 90 wellness checks.

Carr said they are using a military light armoured vehicle to get into the isolation zones on the west side. In the north end, they are using the fire department’s argo and boat.

“We are reiterating there is a decreased level of safety being in an isolated zone and we emphasize the risk of staying,” said Carr during a media briefing Thursday afternoon.

“Saying that, we absolutely come in and we check on them to make sure that they’re okay.”

A lot of water flowing across the Randolph Bridge on Green Head Road this afternoon. It’s one of several roads closed in #SaintJohn due to flooding. pic.twitter.com/xNyhmcxSFO

— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) April 25, 2019

Officials said residents who choose to stay may not have access to essentials for several days and emergency response will be delayed.

Residents who decide to leave their homes are being told to register with the Canadian Red Cross. You can drop by the reception centre at the Carleton Community Centre from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or call 1-800-863-6582.

Two roads have been built up to maintain access for residents — Westfield Road near Mullinger Crescent and Ragged Point Road near civic #172. Several roads in and around Saint John remain closed due to flooding.

Carr said they are thankful the water levels are now forecast to be lower than expected but are worried about high winds in the forecast for Saturday.

“Last year, everybody remembers … we had a high-wind scenario that was coming out of the west that created significant damage to homes and cottages along that side of the river,” he said.

Floodwaters are now forecast to peak at 5.6 metres on Friday before slowly starting to fall on the weekend. They were forecast to reach 5.8 metres, exceeding last year’s peak of 5.76 metres.

Carr said SJ-EMO will remain in response phase until at least Saturday or Sunday and will move to the recovery phase once they can start accessing isolated areas.

The city has distributed around 20,000 sandbags since Sunday. Two sandbag distribution centres remain open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at the municipal salt storage building on Bay Street and the municipal operations building on Boars Head Road.