The city of Saint John is doing everything it can do ensure the safety of residents during this year’s flood.
City manager John Collins urges residents to take precautions, such as having an emergency kit, and sandbagging your home.
“There is still time before we hit the peak levels to do additional preparedness and we would certainly encourage all of our residents and our businesses to take heed of that as well,” he said during a council meeting Tuesday night.
Sand and sandbags will be available for free to Saint John residents at two locations in the city: 406 Bay street and just off Boar’s Head Road.
Water levels are now expected to exceed last year’s historic levels, peaking at 5.8 metres by Friday. Last year, peak levels were 5.73 in Saint John.
The flood level today is 5.2m
The forecast level is expected to reach 5.8m by Friday, which is almost 2 feet above where water levels are today. This will exceed last year's peak flood day.
Stay connected and safe: https://t.co/uy5VwpGNBS pic.twitter.com/nJqNMEh2cW— City of Saint John (@cityofsaintjohn) April 24, 2019
Mayor Don Darling says the numbers are worrisome.
“I’m feeling a little bit anxious,” he said.
“We thought perhaps the flood would be a little easier on us than in 2018, and we’re learning that that’s not going to be the case. Where will it stop, where will the final numbers be? Don’t know.”
However, Darling also remains confident in the talent of the city’s emergency crews to ensure public safety, saying that last year’s flood prepared them well.
“These are the kinds of events that make you very worried as a mayor, you want everyone to get through this safely, and we’re just asking people to be very, very careful,” he said.
Both Darling and Collins urge residents to listen to the voluntary evacuation notices as a matter of public safety. If there is a medical emergency, crews are impacted in their ability to get to you due to water.
Next year, he is hoping for federal help to protect crucial infrastructure from flooding, such as roads and water pumping stations. City crews are working on building up several roads this week, including Westfield road at Mellinger crescent.
After things have calmed, Darling says he would also like to talk climate change efforts, as flooding like this two years in a row is not a good sign, and certainly not normal.
