Flood Details - 1998-03-09 - 1998-03-14

General: An intense storm pushed a warm front through New Brunswick on March 9 causing heavy rain and rapid snowmelt. Total rainfall amounts reached were up to 67 mm in southern New Brunswick. Mild temperatures during the previous week had produced moderately elevated seasonal flows in many rivers. River flows and water levels increased rapidly overnight, causing wide spread flooding on March 10. By March 11, flows and water levels had peaked and were beginning to decline in most of the rivers in southern New Brunswick. However, water levels continued to rise along the lower Saint John River until about March 13. Water levels in the Maugerville to Jemseg area increased XX metres from March XX to March XX, then slowly declined. The water levels in the lower Saint John River did not reach flood stage.Sudden and severe floods occurred in the Nerepis and Kennebacasis valleys, causing extensive damage in the communities of Welsford, Sunset Valley, Sussex, and Sussex Corner. An historic covered bridge at Bayard, across the Nerepis River, was destroyed. The tailings dam at the Mount Pleasant tin mine was breached. Less severe, but significant flood related damages occurred throughout southern New Brunswick. The sudden surge in flows and mild temperatures caused the ice to run on many rivers. Ice jams and flooding were reported on the Nerepis, Nashwaak, Southwest Miramichi, and Saint John rivers. Hartland Area: An ice jam, six kilometres in length, formed below Hartland. It caused localized flooding, closing Route #105 between Hartland and Woodstock. Fredericton Area: Near Nackawic, a washout closed the Campbell Settlement Road to through traffic for four kilometres between Route #105 and Campbell Settlement. Localized flooding closed the Central Hainesville Road near Brewers Mills and two small roads near Scotch Lake. East of Fredericton, the Pyne Eyre Road at Noonan was closed due to flooding, with shoulder washouts in some locations. An ice jam on the Nashwaak River at Penniac Bridge caused flooding and closure of Route #8, and high water levels near Nashwaak Village. Some flooding was also reported to have occurred along the Nashwaak River at Stanley and Durham Bridge. The Penniac Road at Mount Hope was closed due to flooding. A washed out culvert and localized flooding closed Route #102 in the Oromocto-Burton area. In Oromocto, the Waasis Road was closed after a massive washout occurred that left a crevice 24 metres wide, 3.7 metres long, and three metres deep. In Geary, Route #660 was closed when Rockwell Stream flooded the road and bridge. Flooding closed low lying sections of Route #101, near the South Branch Oromocto River between Hoyt and Blissville. In the same area, flooding also closed the Duplisea Road. High school students from Hoyt and Wirral remained at the Oromocto High School until the flooding problems eased. Jemseg Area: A small bridge was washed out at Wickham along the Saint John River on Route #705. Sections of routes #705 and #124 were flooded by up to 0.1 metres of water. Route #710 was closed by Henderson Settlement. Route #715 was closed near Lower Cambridge. The Post Road between Chipman and Iron Bound Cove was closed. Highway underpasses in the Coles Island-Long Creek area were slightly flooded to a depth of two centimetres. A bridge across Fanning Brook on Route #102 near Hampstead was washed out. Westfield Area: Disastrous flooding occurred on the floodplains of the Nerepis River and its tributary, Douglas Valley Brook. In some areas, the Nerepis River grew in width from five metres to 300 metres. The communities of Welsford, Cochrane Lane, and Sunset Valley were severely affected by the swollen rivers, but Westfield and Grand Bay also sustained localized damages from high runoff flows. Floodwaters reached levels higher than the ground floor of some homes, and many others had flooded basements. At Welsford, the Douglas Valley Brook began to flood on March 9. The residents of a house on Station Street, next to the brook, used two sump pumps and manual bailing to remove water flooding the basement. A temporary breakwater failed at 04:30 hours, March 10, causing the basement and part of the ground floor to quickly flood. The residents evacuated the house as the entire site was inundated. They stated that they would have been unable to leave if they had waited another 20 minutes. After evacuating their house, they warned their neighbors of the rising floodwaters. Small bridges on Station Street, which linked it to the rest of the village, were badly damaged by the flood. Near Welsford on Route #7, the site of Adalma Kennels was flooded. Water covered the back yard to a depth of two metres and flooded the house up to the basement windows. An historic covered bridge at Bayard, across the Nerepis River, was destroyed. Surging floodwaters pulled the bridge from its abutments and floated it down river on the morning of March 10. The wooden structure later collapsed after it came to rest 500 metres downstream. The loss of the bridge isolated the residents of Cochrane Lane for nine days until it was replaced with an Acro panel bridge, a type of Bailey bridge. Road access to Sunset Valley and other communities on the north side of the river near Nerepis was cut off after floodwaters washed out a 60 metre section of Brittain Road and bridge abutments along the Woodman Point-Campbell roads. The washed out section of Brittain Road was re-opened to vehicles after 13 days. A 64-year old man who lived on the north side of the Nerepis River died of a heart attack on March 10 during a walk with his wife. Ambulance crews could not reach the area due to the road and bridge washouts. His body was removed on March 12 by soldiers from CFB Gagetown who used a boat to cross the Nerepis River. Welsford was isolated for a period of time on March 10 as the three main roads to the area were closed. Route #7 was closed by a mudslide at Eagle Rock. One lane was re-opened to traffic on the afternoon of March 10, but water still covered the road by the Welsford golf course. Route 7 was flooded by water up to 0.6 metres deep in some areas. Flooding washed out Route #177 and the adjacent railway line near Grand Bay. Route #102 from Greenwich Hill to Browns Flat, and Days Corner Road were closed. A bridge at Browns Flat dropped by 0.6 metres, restricting traffic. A mudslide blocked the Mount Champlain Road near Days Corner. Numerous roads were flooded in the Kingston Peninsula. Route #845 was washed out in many places, and Route #850, from Kingston to Springfield, was washed out in a couple of locations. Magaguadavic River Basin: On the Magaguadavic River, an ice jam lodged slightly downstream of the Second Falls bridge and caused serious flooding. At least one family was evacuated from their home due to the flooding. Near Bonny River, flooding closed the Canal Road and a covered bridge. Weights and cables were attached to the bridge to protect it as floodwaters rose to within five centimetres of its floor. In St. George, about a dozen homes reported flooded basements and washed out driveways. High runoff contributed to the breaching of the tailings dam at the Mount Pleasant tin mine. Effluent from the pond flowed into the Piskahegen Stream. Fortunately, it appeared the tailings deposits were not mobilized and remained inside the tailings pond. Nearby, Route #785 was flooded, and errant ice floes were left on top of the Piskahagen Bridge after the floodwaters receded. The dam on the East Musquash Reservoir began to overflow during the flood. As a precautionary measure, approximately 75 people were evacuated from the area. At the north end of Oak Bay, Route #755 and the causeway on Route 1 were closed. Water covered the causeway on the night of March 9, causing significant damage to the structure. Kennebecasis River Basin: High water levels on the Kennebecasis River and Trout Creek caused sudden and severe floods at Sussex and Sussex Corner. Apparently, the flooding was an open water event in Sussex. Town officials stated the water level in Trout Creek rose 1.2 metres in less than an hour, just before dawn on March 10. The community¿s emergency flood plan was put into effect before sunrise and worked very efficiently. During the night of March 9, Trout Creek overflowed its banks and inundated part of Cunningham subdivision in Sussex Corner. Many residents were evacuated. Further downstream, in Sussex, Trout Creek flooded houses north of Main Street and east of Leonard Street. The area north of Maple and Queen to Markle Street was also flooded. Many homes and a senior citizens residence were evacuated, and many basements were flooded. A section of road shoulder on Leonard Drive was washed away, but it was quickly repaired. Two bridges on Route #880 at Lower Millstream were covered by floodwaters. A washout closed Route #106 west of Salibury. The washout had excavated a hole about 4.6 meters deep across half of the width of the roadway. Memramcook River Basin: About 20 families in the community of Beaumont were isolated after the Beaumont Road was flooded by water up to four feet in depth. The dikes along the Petitcodiac River were reported to have prevented the water from running off into the river, but were being used by the residents as a walking route around the flooded area. A section of Route #925, which connects the villages of College Bridge and Saint Joseph, was closed after being flooded by the Memramcook River. About 2.5 km to the south, Breau Creek flooded a short section of Route #106 to a depth 0.4 metres. Route #106 was flooded at two other locations between Memramcook and Sackville. Route #935 was flooded near Dorchester Cape. Hillsborough Area: Route #114, the main road link from Moncton to Riverside-Albert, was flooded near Hillsborough by Grey Brook. On March 11, floodwaters had receded sufficiently to allow cars to pass. The area was reported to flood frequently. A flooded creek washed away a small, homemade bridge on nearby Albert Mines Road. Miramichi River Basin: On March 11, a large ice jam formed on the main Southwest Miramichi River by Upper Blackville. The jam caused flooding over one metre deep on low lying sections of the Cains River Road, cutting road access to Arbeau Settlement. The floodwaters persisted until March 14, isolating 23 families in Arbeau Settlement for a period of three days. Three children and a teacher were unable to return to their homes in the settlement until March 13. A helicopter was used to bring them home. Residents of Arbeau Settlement desrcribed the jam as being larger than any seen before in the area. It was approximately 400 metres across near the settlement. The receding floodwaters left banks of ice 2 metres high next to the road. Another large ice jam was located upstream at Priceville, but it did not cause any serious problems.

General: Rain fell throughout the Province, with some snow as well in northern areas. Total precipitation amounts are listed below. Fredericton: 61.6 mm rain Saint John: 67.4 mm rain Moncton: 14.6 mm rain Miramichi: 52.2 mm rain Saint Leonard: 47 mm rain, 7 cm snow Westfield Area: In the Nerepis Valley, two flood peaks occurred. The initial and highest flood peak was associated with ice jams, followed by a secondary flood peak that was an open water event. A high water mark at the site of a former hydrometric station (01AP006) was surveyed shortly after the flood. Using an extrapolation of the old rating curve, the high water elevation corresponded to a flow of about 429 cubic metres per second, which greatly exceeds the maximum flows recorded during the operation of the station. The corresponding peak unit flow from a drainage basin of approximately 293 square kilometres was 1.46 cubic metres per second per square kilometre, one of the highest values of unit flow recorded in New Brunswick for a flood event. The hydrometric station operated from 1979 to 1990. During that time, the maximum daily and instantaneous flows were 172 and 281 cms, respectively, and both occurred on March 26, 1979. Local residents stated the 1998 flood was the worst since 1970, an observation which supports the above estimate which exceeds the highest flows of record. Kennebecasis River Basin: In Sussex Corner, a Meadow Crescent homeowner stated it was not the first time the subdivision had flooded, but it was the worst flood. Another resident, who had lived on Mills Lane since 1961, stated that prior to this flood, they had experienced few flooding problems since 1962 when their basement was flooded by 0.3 metres of water. In Sussex, town officials stated the water level in Trout Creek rose 1.2 metres in less than an hour just before dawn on March 10. Floodwaters reached as high as the lip of the sidewalk around the Sussex Tim Hortons restaurant. The owner stated that floodwaters were within 0.15 metres of flooding the store. The basement of Pizza Delight in Sussex was flooded to a depth of 1.2 metres, and the basement of the Fundy Mutual Insurance office was flooded by water 0.4 metres deep.

Flood damages were greatest to transportation infrastructure, with many roads and bridges damaged or destroyed. The New Brunswick Department of Transportation estimated damages of $6,320,000 to the Province's highway system. Road shoulders were washed out in many locations and required large amounts of gravel for repair. The Department of Transportation considered opening gravel pits early if supplies were insufficient. Weight restrictions on roads during spring breakup were in effect. The Province processed 235 claims from the municipal and private sectors for a total of approximately $1 686 110. Of this total, private sector claims accounted for $1 053 453, and claims by municipalities accounted for $632 657. No compensation was paid for damages less than $1 000. The Federal government contributed approximately $4 200 000 for flood damages through a joint Federal/Provincial cost sharing arrangement. The damages were over twice the amount attributed to the ice storm which occurred during January 8 to the 10th, 1998.